Apple launched iOS 26.4 on March 24, a few week after the tech large launched iOS 26.3.1 (a), the corporate’s first Background Safety Enchancment replace. The latest replace brings a slew of options to your iPhone, together with new emoji and video podcasts, plus greater than two dozen bug fixes and security patches.
You possibly can obtain iOS 26.4 now by going to Settings and tapping Common. Subsequent, choose Software program Replace, faucet Replace Now and observe the prompts in your display.
Listed below are among the new options iOS 26.4 brings to your iPhone.
New emoji
All the brand new emoji iOS 26.4 brings to your iPhone.
With iOS 26.4, your iPhone will get eight new emoji:
The Unicode Consortium is liable for creating emoji, and it authorized these eight in September as a part of Unicode 17.0. However that is the primary time the emoji are displaying up on iPhones.
Watch this: Do not Wait: iOS 26.4 Brings New Emoji, Keyboard Fixes, AI Playlists
Video podcasts come to Apple Podcasts
The iOS 26.4 replace additionally brings video to your Podcasts app. To view these video podcasts, open the Podcasts app and begin listening to an episode with the video participant icon within the prime proper nook of the title card. When you’re listening, open the media participant and faucet the Flip Video On button close to the podcast’s progress bar. The podcast’s paintings can be changed with the video. To show the video off once more, faucet Flip Video Off and the podcast’s paintings will return.
Video podcasts are a enjoyable addition to the Podcasts app.
Cut back some Liquid Glass results throughout your machine
Apple’s iOS 26.4 replace provides one other setting to reduce Liquid Glass results throughout your machine: Cut back Vibrant Results. Here is the place to search out this setting.
1. Faucet Settings.
2. Faucet Accessibility.
3. Faucet Show & Textual content Dimension.
4. Scroll down the menu to search out Cut back Vibrant Results.
Cut back Vibrant Results can eradicate some Liquid Glass results.
Apple says the setting will decrease highlighting and flashing when interacting with on-screen components, resembling buttons or the keyboard. So for those who discover sure flash components annoying, now you can disable them.
Playlist Playground in Apple Music
The iOS 26.4 replace additionally introduces a playlist generator for Apple Music subscribers known as Playlist Playground. Apple says the function can create a playlist primarily based in your description. When you enter your description, it is going to create a playlist with a title, tracklist and common description.
To entry Playlist Playground, first you must be an Apple Music subscriber. Then, open Apple Music and go to your Library. In your Library, you will see a brand new icon on the prime of your display with a plus signal and some traces subsequent to it. Faucet this, and you will be prompted to explain your playlist.
Playlist Playground can generate a playlist for you very quickly.
Apple notes this function remains to be in beta, so it’d create sudden outcomes. You may ask for health club combine and find yourself with some Whitney Houston — however who’s to say Whitney is not good health club music?
Discover close by live shows with the aptly named Live shows function
iOS 26.4 brings a Live shows function to your Apple Music app.
“Live shows helps you uncover close by exhibits from artists in your library and recommends new artists primarily based on what you take heed to,” Apple writes within the replace’s description. That manner, you possibly can simply discover close by exhibits.
To seek out Live shows, faucet the magnifying glass icon on the backside of your Apple Music display, then faucet Live shows. The function could ask in your location the primary time you utilize it. After that, you will see widespread exhibits close by, together with their dates, instances and places. Tapping into any of those exhibits provides you extra data on the present, in addition to a hyperlink to purchase tickets.
The Live shows tab in Apple Music makes it straightforward to see upcoming exhibits in your space.
Shazam works offline, form of
With iOS 26.4, your Management Heart’s Shazam app can work in additional methods. Now, for those who aren’t linked to the web and use the Management Heart app to determine a music, the app will ultimately inform you the music’s id when you’re again on-line.
Ambient Music residence display widgets
Apple launched two new Ambient Music widgets in your residence display with iOS 26.4. These widgets allow you to simply entry the 4 Ambient Music playlists: Sleep, Chill, Productiveness and Wellbeing. You possibly can rapidly activate a calming playlist to unwind after a protracted day, or one that can assist you deal with the duty at hand.
The Ambient Music widget makes it straightforward to play music for simply the precise setting.
Apple launched these playlists to your iPhone alongside iOS 18.4 in 2024. Nevertheless, you could possibly solely entry these playlists out of your Management Heart on the time.
Let different adults in your Household pay for themselves
In iOS 26.4, different adults in your Household sharing group can now use their own payment method as a substitute of relying on the group organizer’s fee technique. Meaning for those who’re an grownup and have a household sharing group with your individual mother and father, siblings or different relations, now you can buy a sport, film or one thing else with your individual data as a substitute of utilizing another person’s data after which paying them again.
This generally is a useful function that lets you keep away from the effort of paying another person again for utilizing their fee data. And for those who’re the particular person whose card is at all times used, it may be a pleasant manner to make sure others pay for their very own stuff and do not freeload off you.
Extra caption choices when viewing movies
With iOS 26.4, you possibly can simply change the caption type whereas watching content material in sure apps, resembling Apple TV.
To see these choices, begin taking part in a video, then faucet the speech bubble icon within the bottom-right nook of your display to open the subtitle menu. Faucet Fashion, and you may see the subtitle choices Traditional (the default setting), Massive Textual content, Define Textual content and Clear Background. So for those who and some others are watching one thing in your iPhone and need to make certain everybody can see the captions, you may select Massive Textual content.
You possibly can alter the subtitles in some apps due to iOS 26.4.
Extra management over wallpaper Collections
The iOS 26.4 replace additionally provides you extra management over which wallpaper Collections are in your iPhone. Now, for those who go to Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper, you possibly can faucet Get below Collections resembling Climate and Astronomy.
If you wish to delete a Assortment out of your machine, faucet the test mark to the precise of the downloaded Assortment, and the choice to Take away from Gallery seems. Faucet this to delete the Assortment out of your iPhone, saving you some treasured house.
You possibly can take away wallpaper Collections out of your iPhone if you wish to save a bit house.
Listed below are the discharge notes for iOS 26.4.
Apple Music
- Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist out of your description, full with a title, description and tracklist.
- Live shows helps you uncover close by exhibits from artists in your library and recommends new artists primarily based on what you take heed to.
- Offline Music Recognition in Management Heart identifies songs with out an web connection and delivers outcomes mechanically while you’re again on-line.
- Ambient Music widget for Sleep, Chill, Productiveness and Wellbeing brings curated playlists to the Residence Display.
- Full-screen backgrounds give album and playlist pages a extra immersive look.
Accessibility
- Cut back brilliant results setting minimizes brilliant flashes when tapping on components like buttons.
- Subtitle and caption settings can be found from the captions icon whereas viewing media, making them simpler to search out, customise and preview.
- Cut back Movement setting extra reliably reduces the animations of Liquid Glass for individuals delicate to on-screen movement.
This replace additionally contains the next enhancements:
- Assist for AirPods Max 2.
- Eight new emoji, together with an orca, trombone, landslide, ballet dancer and distorted face, can be found within the emoji keyboard.
- Freeform good points superior picture creation and modifying instruments, and a premium content material library, becoming a member of Apple Creator Studio.
- Mark reminders as pressing from the Fast Toolbar or by touching and holding, and filter for pressing reminders in your Sensible Lists.
- Buy Sharing lets grownup members in Household Sharing teams use their very own fee technique when making purchases, with out counting on the household organizer.
- Improved keyboard accuracy when typing rapidly.
For extra iOS information, take a look at what options have been included in iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.2. You too can check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for different ideas and methods.
