iOS 26.4 is currently available in beta, and packed with many new features. Here’s everything new coming to six iPhone apps in iOS 26.4.
Apple Music
Apple Music is happening five new features in iOS 26.4, making it one of the biggest app updates in the release.
New features include:
- Playlist Playground, an AI playlist creation tool
- Beautiful new design with full screen for albums and playlists
- Ambient music widgets for home screen
- Concert information for local artists and venues
- The ability to add songs to several playlists at the same time
My personal favorites so far are the new full-screen design for albums and playlists and Playlist Playground. However, the latter feature requires an AI-compatible iPhone.
reminders
Late last year in iOS 26.2, the Reminders app gained one of my favorite new features: ‘urgent’ reminder.
The idea is that you can now mark any time-based reminder as ‘Urgent’ and when you do, the app will send more than just a standard push notification when the time is right.
“Urgent” reminders set off an alarm when they come up and stay next to a separate lock screen and Live Activity interface until you mark the task complete. They also offer the option of snoozing the alarm.
In iOS 26.4, Apple adds a new touch to the feature: now all your Urgent reminders are available from a dedicated Urgent smart list at the top of the app. This new list makes it easy to see your most important and time-sensitive tasks in one place.
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts supported video podcasts long before YouTube and Spotify became popular. But the inheritance feature needed some improvements and iOS 26.4 offers.
Starting in iOS 26.4, the Podcasts app will gain an “enhanced video podcast experience.”
Here’s what that means, according to Apple press release:
In the Apple Podcasts app, users will be able to seamlessly switch between watching and listening to shows, making the experience of discovering and watching video podcasts as simple and enjoyable as listening to audio podcasts has always been. Users can watch videos from within the app and switch to full horizontal screen, as well as download videos to watch offline. And automatic quality adjustment enabled by HLS technology ensures smooth playback in all network conditions, providing the best possible experience whether listeners are on Wi-Fi or a cellular connection.
The number of video podcasts currently available on Apple Podcasts is quite limited, but hopefully these improvements will go a long way towards changing that.
Apple TV
Apple’s TV app makes it easy change the subtitle style on iOS 26.4.
When watching a video, tap the Subtitles button and you’ll find a new Style menu.
Available styles include classic, large text, outlined text, and transparent background. But you can also press the Manage Styles button to customize the subtitle style even further.
This feature was previously available through the accessibility settings, but it’s great to see it made more prominent within the Apple TV app.
health
One of my favorite features of the Apple Health app is Highlights, which shows trends in your data over time.
iOS 26.4 adds a new emphasis on sleep data: sleep schedule. It provides a quick visual summary of your sleep schedule over the past two weeks, providing the average, a bar graph, as well as highlighting the previous night’s sleep schedule.
The update also brings blood oxygen readings to the Vitals chart. These readings were removed from Vitals after Apple’s Masimo saga. But now that Blood Oxygen is back for Apple Watch users, iOS 26.4 restores data in Vitals.
Free form
Last month when Apple Creator Studio GOINGgiven to subscribers new premium features in Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
Apple promised at the time that premium features would also come to Freeform later in the year. And iOS 26.4 delivers on that promise.
Freeform now includes the Content Hub seen in other iWork apps, providing access to Apple-curated photos, graphics and wallpapers. The app also allows you to generate new AI images using OpenAI’s image models.
What new app features in iOS 26.4 are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments.
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