Apple releases iOS 26.4: what new features are coming to the iPhone
iOS 26.4 wasn’t the major Siri update some users had been hoping for, but it did introduce a number of changes focused on usability, multimedia capabilities and everyday iPhone use.
One of the most notable new features is ‘Playlist by Text’ in Apple Music. Users can now create playlists based on text descriptions: simply enter a mood, emotion, activity or any other query, and the AI will generate a suitable selection of music.
The system has also gained an Ambient Music widget. It allows you to quickly launch background sounds for sleep, relaxation, productivity and general well-being – from collections curated by Apple.
A separate set of changes concerns emojis. Eight new characters have been added in iOS 26.4, including a trombone, a treasure chest, a distorted face, a furry creature, a battle cloud, an orca, a landslide and a ballet dancer.
Apple has also added new settings to reduce visual strain. The ‘Reduce Bright Effects’ setting lowers the intensity of flashes when buttons are pressed, whilst the ‘Reduce Motion’ feature now further restricts Liquid Glass animations.
The update also fixed a keyboard issue that could cause typing errors when using fast text input in iOS 26.
Changes have also been made to the payment system for Family Sharing. Members of shared groups no longer need to use a single payment method – everyone can add their own bank card.
CarPlay now supports third-party chatbots. For full compatibility, companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google need to update their apps to take advantage of the new features in iOS 26.4.
The ‘Podcasts’ app now supports HLS video episodes, switching between audio and video, and downloading videos for offline viewing. In this way, Apple is expanding the very format of podcast consumption within the system.
Another new feature has been added to the Health app. It now displays the average sleep duration over the last two weeks, which should help users better assess the impact of rest on the body.
In terms of security, Apple has enabled anti-theft protection by default. The device will require biometric authentication for actions such as viewing passwords or disabling Lost Mode, and a one-hour delay is in place for certain important changes, including the Apple ID password.
Other additions include offline song recognition in Control Centre, suggestions for nearby concerts, full-screen album art in Apple Music, easier access to subtitle settings in media apps, and support for Freeform in Apple Creator Studio.
The iOS 26.4 release candidate is already available to developers and public beta testers. The official launch of the update is expected on 23–24 March.
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