Apple launched iOS 26.4 on Tuesday, March 24, a few week after the tech large launched iOS 26.3.1 (a), the corporate’s first Background Safety Enchancment replace. The newest replace brings a slew of options to your iPhone, together with new emoji and video podcasts plus greater than two-dozen bug fixes and safety patches.
You’ll be able to obtain iOS 26.4 now by going to Settings and tapping Basic. Subsequent, choose Software program Replace, faucet Replace Now and comply with the prompts in your display.
Listed here 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 answerable for creating emoji and it accepted these eight in September as a part of Unicode 17.0. However that is the primary time the emoji are exhibiting up on iPhones.
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 high 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 art work can be changed with the video. To show the video off once more, faucet Flip Video Off and the podcast’s art work 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 get rid of some Liquid Glass results.
Apple says the setting will reduce highlighting and flashing when interacting with on-screen parts, equivalent to buttons or the keyboard. So when you discover sure flash parts 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 can create a playlist with a title, tracklist and normal description.
To entry Playlist Playground, first it’s important to be an Apple Music subscriber. Then, open Apple Music and go to your Library. In your Library, you may see a brand new icon on the high of your display with a plus 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 continues to be in beta so it would create sudden outcomes. So that you may ask for a very good gymnasium combine and find yourself with some Whitney Houston — however who’s to say Whitney is not good gymnasium music?
Discover close by concert events with the aptly named Concert events function
iOS 26.4 brings a Concert events function to your Apple Music app.
“Concert events helps you uncover close by exhibits from artists in your library and recommends new artists primarily based on what you hearken to,” Apple writes within the replace’s description. That approach, you may simply discover close by exhibits.
To seek out Concert events, faucet the magnifying glass icon on the backside of your Apple Music display, then faucet Concert events. The function could ask to your location the primary time you employ it. Then you definitely’ll see fashionable exhibits close by, together with their dates, occasions and places. Tapping into any of those exhibits provides you extra info on the present, in addition to a hyperlink to purchase tickets.
The Concert events tab in Apple Music makes it simple 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, when you aren’t linked to the web and use the Management Heart app to determine a tune, the app will finally inform you the tune’s identification when you’re again on-line.
Ambient Music residence display widgets
Apple launched two new Ambient Music widgets to your residence display with iOS 26.4. These widgets allow you to simply entry the 4 Ambient Music playlists: Sleep, Chill, Productiveness, Wellbeing. You’ll be able to rapidly activate a soothing playlist to unwind after a protracted day, or one that will help you deal with the duty at hand.
The Ambient Music widget makes it simple to play music for simply the proper setting.
Apple launched these playlists to your iPhone alongside iOS 18.4 in 2024. Nevertheless, you can 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 very own fee as a substitute of relying on the group organizer’s fee methodology. Which means when you’re an grownup and have a household sharing group with your personal dad and mom, siblings or different members of the family, now you can buy a sport, film or one thing else with your personal info as a substitute of utilizing another person’s info after which paying them again.
This is usually a useful function that lets you keep away from the effort of paying another person again for utilizing their fee info. And when you’re the individual whose card is at all times used, it may be a pleasant approach 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 may simply change the caption model whereas watching content material in sure apps, equivalent to Apple TV.
To see these choices, begin enjoying a video, then faucet the speech bubble icon within the bottom-right nook of your display to open the subtitle menu. Faucet Type, and you will see the subtitle choices Traditional (the default setting), Massive Textual content, Define Textual content and Clear Background. So when you and some others are watching one thing in your iPhone and need to be certain that everybody can see the captions, you may select Massive Textual content.
You’ll be able to modify 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, when you go to Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper, you may faucet Get beneath Collections like Climate and Astronomy.
If you wish to delete a Assortment out of your machine, faucet the verify mark to the proper 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’ll be able to take away wallpaper Collections out of your iPhone if you wish to save somewhat house.
Listed here 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.
- Concert events helps you uncover close by exhibits from artists in your library and recommends new artists primarily based on what you hearken to.
- Offline Music Recognition in Management Heart identifies songs with out an web connection and delivers outcomes routinely if you’re again on-line.
- Ambient Music widget for Sleep, Chill, Productiveness and Wellbeing brings curated playlists to the Dwelling Display.
- Full-screen backgrounds give album and playlist pages a extra immersive look.
Accessibility
- Cut back vivid results setting minimizes vivid flashes when tapping on parts 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 customers delicate to on-screen movement.
This replace additionally consists of the next enhancements:
- Help for AirPods Max 2.
- 8 new emoji, together with an orca, trombone, landslide, ballet dancer and distorted face, can be found within the emoji keyboard.
- Freeform beneficial properties 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 Good Lists.
- Buy Sharing lets grownup members in Household Sharing teams use their very own fee methodology 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 can even check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for different ideas and methods.
Watch this: Do not Wait: iOS 26.4 Brings New Emoji, Keyboard Fixes, AI Playlists
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