iOS 26.4 beta 1 is available to developers and includes many new features and changes for your iPhone. This is what you can expect.
iOS 26.4 beta 1 is out
New changes have been made to the Music app, Messages and Apple Podcasts, among others. Below you’ll find a full overview of all the new features in the first beta from iOS 26.4.
Apple Podcasts
iOS 26.4 upgrades the Apple Podcasts app with new video podcast capabilities. This makes it easier to switch between watching video podcasts and listening to audio podcasts. The features are based on Apple’s HLS technology, which allows the quality to be automatically adjusted based on network performance. iOS 26.4 also adds support for dynamic video ads in Apple Podcasts.
To inform
Apple added support for testing encrypted RCS messages with iOS 26.4 beta 1. Currently, this is only supported for communication between iPhones for RCS testing purposes.
Apple Music
Apple has made several upgrades to the Music app as part of iOS 26.4. When you view certain albums and playlists, you’ll see new full-screen images that should bring your music more to life.
The update also adds support for finding concerts near you and tour dates for artists in your Apple Music library. Furthermore, the ‘Profile’ section has been redesigned, making common tasks easier to access.
Playlist Playground
iOS 26.4 also adds a new Apple Intelligence feature to the Music app. Playlist Playground lets you create playlists based on text descriptions or pre-selected prompts.
Background gallery
iOS 26.4 introduces a new background gallery in which the different categories are even more clearly separated. The interface is also much clearer than before and more responsive. Apple has introduced a similar design for the Apple Watch’s watch face gallery.
Memories
In the Reminders app, iOS 26.4 adds a new smart list for tasks you’ve marked as ‘Urgent’. This builds on the Urgent setting that Apple added to Reminders last year as part of iOS 26.2. When you mark a task as Urgent, the Reminders app sets an alarm to remind you.
New widget
iOS 26.4 adds a new widget to the home screen that gives you quick access to your playlists in Apple Music.
Protection for stolen device
Stolen device protection is enabled by default in iOS 26.4. The feature requires biometric authentication when you are not in trusted locations such as home or work. The feature also includes a time delay for a second biometric authentication for certain sensitive actions. Before iOS 26.4, you had to manually enable Stolen Device Protection.
App Store
In the App Store, the search bar has been moved back to the top of the search tab. The search tab is now also integrated into the bottom navigation bar.
This is when you can expect iOS 26.4
It is almost certain that iOS 26.4 will not be released until the second half of March. Similar updates previously appeared in the middle or last week of March. A release in the week of March 23 or March 30 is therefore likely. Don’t want to miss any of it? Then sign up for our newsletter and we will automatically keep you informed!
Download the iPhoned app
