Apple releases iOS 26.4 beta with Apple Music improvements, RCS support in Messages, health updates, and enhanced security features. Learn about the latest changes.
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Apple has released the third beta version of iOS 26.4 for developers and public testers, with the final release expected in late March or early April. This update brings significant changes to Apple Music, Podcasts, Messages, Health, the App Store, and iPhone security.
The main focus is on Apple Music. The app now features a Concerts section for finding nearby concerts and artist tour dates from your library, full-screen animated album and playlist covers, an updated profile with quick access to subscriptions and settings, and the ability to add tracks to multiple playlists at once. A new Playlist Playground function powered by Apple Intelligence lets you create playlists based on text descriptions and refine them with additional requests. Additionally, Ambient Music widgets have been added to the home screen for quick access to mood-based music: Chill, Productivity, Sleep, and Wellbeing.
In Reminders, a separate list now handles tasks marked as "Urgent," which trigger automatic alerts. Messages has added support for end-to-end encrypted RCS with a dedicated toggle and lock icon in chats, though the full rollout of this feature has been postponed to a future iOS 26 update. Apple Podcasts has enhanced capabilities for video podcasts, including easy switching between video and audio, automatic quality adaptation via HLS, and support for dynamic video ads.
The Health app now displays average bedtime and brings back the blood oxygen level graph in the Vitals section. The Stolen Device Protection feature is enabled by default and requires Face ID for certain actions outside trusted locations, with an additional delay for re-authentication. The update also includes a refreshed wallpaper gallery and Apple Watch face designs, a relocated search bar at the top of the App Store and Games, darker pop-up menus in Dark Mode for Control Center, a new Reduce Highlighting Effects option in Accessibility, a setting for searching photos and files on iCloud.com, and the launch of Freeform Creator Studio for subscribers.