iOS 26 introduced a bold new Liquid Glass design, and subsequent updates have added new ways to customize not only how your iPhone looks, but also how it works. Here are five recent new customization settings.
#1: Customize your liquid glass design
Apple has a wide customer base, so understandably the new liquid glass design for the iPhone wasn’t popular with everyone.
Rather than improving Liquid Glass for everyone, Apple has instead decided to add an optional Settings toggle.
The setting, available under Display and Brightness ⇾ Liquid Glass, offers two liquid glass options:
“Clear” maintains the same liquid glass style that is available by default. However, if you don’t like the bright look or perhaps find readability a problem, the ‘Tone’ option will increase the opacity and add more contrast throughout the system.
#2: Swipe on the lock screen
Not too long ago, the iPhone offered far fewer methods for launching the Camera app.
The main method for many users was (and still is) to swipe left on the lock screen.
However, in 2017, the iPhone X introduced a dedicated on-screen camera button; in 2023, the Action button became the camera trigger for many; and in 2024, camera control debuted.
Despite the plethora of new options for launching the Camera app, the previous swipe gesture was still available – and impossible to disable.
But as of iOS 26.1, Apple has finally changed that.
If you like swiping with the Lock Screen Camera, it’s still an option today. But if you never use it, except by accident, there’s now a switch to turn it off.
Inside Settings ⇾ Camera you will find a new option “Swipe to open camera to lock screen”. It’s on by default, but you can now disable it.
#3: One-tap actions instead of sliders
It’s hard to get a more “classic iPhone” than a “Slide to unlock” gesture. And iOS 26.1 recently reintroduced this feature, but newly deployed for alarms and timers.
In iOS 26, the Lock Screen design for alarms and timers has undergone a major change – the stop or snooze buttons have become larger.
For some users, this redesign made it too easy to accidentally turn off the alarm or timer. So, since iOS 26.1, the standard “Stop” button has been replaced by the “Slide to stop” gesture.
However, if you don’t like the change, you can go to Settings ⇾ Accessibility ⇾ Touch to find a way to undo it.
The new setting is called “Prefer One Touch Actions”. Simply put, it ensures that interface elements that require a swipe action (like the new alarm and timer screens) use one-tap buttons instead.
#4: New screen flash for notifications
Notifications have long offered a special facilitation feature that triggers another visual cue. You can set your iPhone’s camera flash to fire when a notification arrives.
This feature is great for the hard of hearing, but it’s also just a nice option for sending notifications.
And in iOS 26.2 there is another new alternative in the same vein.
Inside Settings ⇾ Accessibility ⇾ Sound and video ⇾ Flash for notifications, you’ll see a new “Screen” option.
When the Screen option is turned on, the notification will cause your iPhone’s display to fully illuminate for a brief moment before returning to normal brightness. You can even pair it with your camera’s flash option to maximize the effect.
#5: Advanced lock screen clock slider
The lock screen is one of the best ways to customize the look and feel of your iPhone. And in iOS 26, Apple gave the lock screen clock a special “glass” style.
However, recently the clock opacity slider has been expanded so you can be more transparent or opaque than before.
Make sure your clock is set to ‘Glass’ and not ‘Solid’ and then play around with it to find the right look for your lock screen.
This updated slider is available regardless of which font option you chose. Unfortunately, you can still only increase the size of the clock using the default font.
Which recent new settings in iOS 26 have you been using? Let us know in the comments.
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