After weeks of beta testing, Apple has finally started rolling out iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to the public with several new features and changes. These updates come almost three weeks after the release of iOS 26.3.1 and iPadOS 26.3.1, which introduced support for the new Studio Display, and one week after the release of the Background Security Improvements update for these versions.
In addition to new features, these updates are expected to bring in more stability in performance and battery life for users running previous versions. According to Apple, iOS 26.4 features the following changes:
“Apple Music:
- Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your description, complete with a title, description, and tracklist
- Concerts helps you discover nearby shows from artists in your library and recommends new artists based on what you listen to
- Offline Music Recognition in Control Center identifies songs without an internet connection and delivers results automatically when you’re back online
- Ambient Music widget for Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing brings curated playlists to the Home Screen
- Full screen backgrounds give album and playlist pages a more immersive look
Accessibility:
- Reduce bright effects setting minimizes bright flashes when tapping on elements like buttons
- Subtitle and caption settings are available from the captions icon while viewing media, making them easier to find, customize, and preview
- Reduce Motion setting more reliably reduces the animations of Liquid Glass for users sensitive to on screen motion
This update also includes the following enhancements:
- 8 new emoji including an orca, trombone, landslide, ballet dancer, and distorted face are available in the emoji keyboard
- Freeform gains advanced image creation and editing tools, and a premium content library, joining Apple Creator Studio
- Mark reminders as urgent from the Quick Toolbar or by touching and holding, and filter for urgent reminders in your Smart Lists
- Purchase Sharing lets adult members in Family Sharing groups use their own payment method when making purchases, without relying on the family organizer
- Improved keyboard accuracy when typing quickly
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit: https://support.apple.com/100100
Some features may not be available in all regions or on all iPhone models. To learn more, please visit: https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability.
Software updates, like this one, add new features and improvements that may affect performance and/or battery life. To learn more, please visit: https://support.apple.com/125039.”
Initially, iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 were expected to launch with the new revamped Siri with deeper app controls, and more. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported earlier that the revamp is facing delays again after internal testing, with key features now expected to slip to iOS 26.5 or even iOS 27. Since the final release of 26.4 is out, we can expect the first betas of the 26.5 versions to arrive next week or even earlier.
That said, iOS and iPadOS 26.4 ship with a new Intelligence feature as mentioned above, which is Playlist Playground on Apple Music. The update also enables ‘Stolen Device Protection’ by default if not already enabled.
These updates are currently available for the following devices:
- iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17e
- iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16e
- iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
- iPad Pro (M4 and M5)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)
- iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
- iPad (8th generation and later)
- iPad mini (5th generation and later)
iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 are expected to include security fixes, but Apple has not yet updated its security webpage to reflect the release of these new versions.
Are you excited to try out the new features? Let us know down in the comments or write to us on @appleosophy! Be sure to download the Appleosophy App from the App Store or visit our website to stay updated with the latest Apple news!
