Apple today released iOS 26 Beta 6 for developers, bringing the app opening and closing animation from iPadOS 26 to iPhone, several new variations of the Reflection ringtone, and some tweaks to Liquid Glass. Here’s everything new in iOS 26 Beta 6 so far, along with a comparison to Beta 5. Let’s take a look.
From now on, you can expect new updates every week (instead of every two weeks).
In case you missed it, here are the features included in iOS 26 Beta 5 →
New Ringtones
iOS 26 Beta 6 adds six new ringtone variations for Reflection, including: Buoyant, Dreamer, Pond, Pop, Reflected (introduced in Beta 2 as “Alt 1”), Surge, and a completely new ringtone called Little Bird.
I’ve extracted the new ringtone files, and you can download them in this post.
https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/1954980183850750377
New App Open/Close Animation
After updating to Beta 6, you’ll notice apps open and close faster, feel smoother, and look a bit different. That’s because Apple has refreshed the app open/close animation, similar to the animation in iPadOS 26.
https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/1954968740866748709
Lock Screen
The Lock Screen clock now has a true Liquid Glass effect, replacing the frosted glass style from earlier betas.
Photos Splash Screen
The Photos app now has a new splash screen.
Onboarding Screen
After updating to iOS 26 Beta 6, you’ll see a new onboarding screen introducing Liquid Glass, Home Screen app icon customization, updates to the Camera app, a relocated search bar at the bottom of the screen, and more.
https://x.com/apollozac/status/1954959489754386768
Camera
Beta 6 removes the Classic Mode Switching option from Camera settings — a feature added in Beta 5 that let you change how scrolling works when switching modes in the Camera app.
Toggles
Toggles now have a Liquid Glass effect when tapped. In previous versions, there was no effect on tap, it only appeared when you tapped and held a toggle, then moved it.
Shortcuts
The Shortcuts app now has a new Select Variable style, similar to the floating toolbar in Notes or the menu that appears when you copy text.
Game Mode
The “Game Mode On” indicator has reverted to the design from iOS 26 Beta 4.
Thanks to @iNekomac
Preview App
The Preview app gets some button tweaks in iOS 26 Beta 6. The New Document and Scan Documents buttons are now more noticeable in the main interface, and there’s also a big Create Document button in every folder you open.
Phone Settings
Phone settings also get more polish in Beta 6. The three Screen Unknown Callers options from Beta 5 (Never, Ask Reason for Calling, Silence) are now combined into a single toggle called Silence Unknown Callers.
Also, I noticed that the Detect Call Waiting setting has disappeared in Beta 6.
Update: Looks like this feature will appear in regions where it’s supported, such as the US.
Liquid Glass
Liquid Glass in iOS 26 Beta 6 shows more noticeable chromatic aberration on toggles and the tab bar.
https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/1955003774457745771
Widgets with transparent backgrounds in Beta 6 now also feature Liquid Glass effects.
Beta 6 makes the glass icons (Clear Mode) easier to see, even without dimming the wallpaper.
Hint of Live Translate for AirPods
9to5Mac discovered images in the iOS 26 Beta 6 code showing a Translation feature for AirPods, which is very likely the long-rumored Live Translate.
The image hints at a gesture to activate the translation feature by tapping the stem of the AirPods.
Preview App on iPad
The Preview app in iPadOS 26 Beta 6 has a 3D loupe that you can drag anywhere on the screen to mimic a real-life magnifying glass. It doesn’t serve any purpose beyond making the Preview app on iPad more fun.
For now, it’s only available on iPad, I tried it on iOS 26 Beta 6 and found nothing 
https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/1955296636713705921
Always On Display
iPhones with Always On Display will now see a slide-up animation when full-screen album artwork is enabled.
https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/1955626674030329956
Bug Fixes 
- Fixed an issue where the Games and iTunes app icons rendered oddly.
- Fixed an issue where the Photos app could freeze when sharing photos or videos to another app via the Share Sheet.
I’ll keep adding more iOS 26 Beta 6 changes and new features here as I discover them. Stay tuned and follow @BetaProfiles on X or Threads!
If you spot any other changes, feel free to share them in the comments below 
I don’t use these things, so I didn’t know they had changed.