Apple highlights 13 improvements coming to iPhone with iOS 26.4 – 9to5Mac

Apple has released first build of iOS 26.4 RChighlighting 13 improvements coming to your iPhone, and that means three things.

First, iOS 26.4 is likely to be released to the public next week. Second, iOS 26.5 with the first Features Siri and Apple Intelligence powered by Gemini is the future in the beta cycle. And third, Apple has shared detailed release notes about what’s new in iOS 26.4.

iOS 26.4 Release Notes

Here are the official release notes for iOS 26.4, which detail 13 improvements coming to your iPhone:

This update introduces Playlist Playground and Concerts to Apple Music, and 8 new emoji, along with other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.

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 hear
• Offline Music Recognition in Control Center identifies offline songs and automatically delivers results when you’re back online
• Ambient music widget for sleep, relaxation, productivity and well-being brings curated playlists to the home screen
• Full screen backgrounds give album and playlist pages a more immersive look

Accessibility

• The reduce bright effects setting minimizes bright flashes when you touch elements such as buttons
• Subtitle settings are available from the subtitle icon while viewing media, making it easier to find, customize and preview subtitles
• The Reduce Motion setting more reliably reduces Liquid Glass animations for users sensitive to screen motion

This update also includes the following improvements:

• 8 new emojis including an orca, trombone, landslide, dancer and crooked face are available in the emoji keyboard
• Freeform gains advanced image creation and editing tools, as well as a library of premium content, by joining Apple Creator Studio
• Mark reminder alerts as urgent from the Quick Toolbar or by tapping and holding, and filter for urgent reminders in your Smart Lists
• Purchase Sharing allows adult members of Family Sharing groups to use their own payment method when making purchases, without relying on the family organizer
• Improved keyboard accuracy when typing quickly

iOS 26.4 is available as a release candidate for beta testers starting today. The official release is likely to come next week. You can see 9to5Mac’s full hands-on coverage of iOS 26.4 features here.