The MacRumors Show: Talking iOS 26 Beta 2 Features and Changes

June 29, 2025 June 29, 2025

The MacRumors Show: iOS 26 Beta 2 Deep Dive and Apple's AI Ambitions

This week's episode of The MacRumors Show provides a comprehensive analysis of the latest updates in iOS 26 Beta 2, covering everything from subtle UI enhancements to potential major acquisitions. We also discuss the latest rumors surrounding the upcoming iPhone 17.

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iOS 26 Beta 2: Under the Hood

Apple has made several refinements in iOS 26 Beta 2, focusing primarily on enhancing visual clarity and user experience. These changes, while subtle, contribute to a more polished and intuitive interface.

Control Center Improvements

The Control Center's Liquid Glass buttons now benefit from a significant increase in background blur. This makes the buttons significantly easier to distinguish, especially against complex or busy backgrounds. The improved contrast significantly improves usability.

Enhanced Accessibility: Reduce Transparency

The "Reduce Transparency" setting within Accessibility options has received a boost. This setting already minimizes the see-through effect throughout the iOS interface; the update in Beta 2 further reduces this effect, resulting in a cleaner and less visually cluttered experience for users who find transparency distracting or difficult to navigate.

Safari Tweaks

Safari has seen a couple of notable changes in this beta. The "New Tab" button in the tab management view has been relocated from the top left corner to the bottom left. This returns the button to its position in iOS 18, a change that many users will likely appreciate for its familiarity and intuitive placement.

Furthermore, when using the Compact tab bar layout, back and forward navigation buttons are now included. This addition is a welcome improvement for users who prefer the compact layout, as it previously lacked these essential navigation controls.

Apple Music Widget and New Ringtone

Apple Music now includes a convenient Live Radio widget. This allows users quick access to their favorite real-time radio streams directly from their Home Screen, eliminating the need to open the app.

A new ringtone option, "Alt 1," has been added to the Reflection category in the Sounds and Haptics settings. While seemingly minor, these additions provide more personalization options for users.

Clarified Low Power Mode

The description of Low Power Mode has been rewritten for better clarity. The updated description now explicitly states that activating Low Power Mode reduces background activity, processing speed, display refresh rate, and brightness. It also clearly indicates that features like 5G and iCloud syncing will be limited. This enhanced description provides users with a more thorough understanding of the impact of this power-saving feature.

Dynamic Default Wallpaper

The default wallpaper introduced with iOS 26 now incorporates animation using the system's spatial photos feature. This adds a dynamic, more engaging element to the home screen, making it more visually appealing and interactive.

Beyond iOS 26: Apple's Strategic Moves

The podcast also delves into Apple's potential strategic moves, specifically their rumored interest in the AI search startup, Perplexity.

Apple's Potential Perplexity Acquisition

We discuss Apple's apparent consideration of a bid for Perplexity, a company known for its advanced AI search technology. This move suggests a significant push by Apple into the rapidly expanding field of artificial intelligence, aiming to potentially integrate this technology into their existing product ecosystem.

iPhone 17 Color Speculation

The episode also touches on the new purple and green color options rumored for the iPhone 17. These potential color additions add to the anticipated excitement for the new iPhone release, offering users more choices for personalization.

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Catch Up on Previous Episodes

If you missed our previous episode, The MacRumors Show: WWDC 2025 Rumor Review, be sure to check it out! We provided a rumor report card analyzing the accuracy of pre-WWDC 2025 predictions.