Apple has released the fourth developer beta for iPadOS 26.1, just a week after Developer Beta 3. Since we’re not yet at the Release Candidate build, it’s clear that the M5 iPad Pro will not launch with 26.1 but will instead ship with the current release (though there’s likely to be a day-one update).

Below is what’s new in this beta. This post will be updated if more changes are discovered.

Liquid Glass Toggle

Somewhat surprisingly, iPadOS 26.1 adds a new toggle that gives users some control over how certain Liquid Glass UI elements appear.

There’s now a toggle in Settings → Display that adjusts the Liquid Glass opacity. The default value is Clear, which matches the current appearance. The new option, Tinted, decreases the opacity of specific controls to make them less transparent. Presumably, this was added in response to user feedback that text could be difficult to read in certain situations.

Some elements are more affected than others. The tinted effect is very noticeable in apps like Music, Podcasts, and Photos, as well as on Lock Screen notifications. The Dock also seems to be affected, though to a lesser extent. Control Center appears unchanged.

Many users have requested a slider that allows for more granular control of the Liquid Glass effect. Hopefully, this is a step in that direction.

Disable Camera Shortcut

This is one of those changes that feels like it would be relevant on iOS but is actually just as useful on iPad (at least for me).

You pick up your iPad, accidentally swipe on the screen as you’re doing so, and suddenly, you’re in the Camera app.

Well, dear reader, we’re now in luck: it’s finally possible to disable the Camera shortcut from the Lock Screen (Settings → Camera)!