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Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to Developers

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Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple provided the second beta to developers.

ios 26 4 pastel
Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.

iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 add multiple new features to the iPhone and the ‌iPad‌, but the first beta contained no sign of new Siri capabilities.

A Playlist Playground feature in Apple Music lets you generate songs for any idea, mood, emotion, or activity using a text-based prompt. There's also a Concerts Near You feature for finding local shows, and a redesigned look for albums and playlists with full-page artwork.

Apple Podcasts is getting native video podcasting capabilities that will make it easier to create, distribute, and monetize video podcast content through the Podcasts app. Video episodes will integrate with existing Apple podcasts features, like personalized recommendations and editorial suggestions.

Apple is testing end-to-end encryption for RCS, which will eventually bring full encryption to text conversations between Android and iPhone users. Apple is testing ‌RCS‌ with iPhone-to-iPhone conversations and iPhone-to-Android conversations.

The first two betas didn't include new emojis, but we saw signs of them in the code so we might get them in the third beta. The new update is also expected to new emoji characters will include trombone, treasure chest, orca, landslide, and Bigfoot.

Stolen Device Protection is enabled by default, there's a new ambient music widget, new average bedtime metrics in the sleep app, and plenty more. All of the features in iOS 26.4 can be found in our iOS 26.4 beta features guide.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
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Top Rated Comments

eveluvsrainbows Avatar
eveluvsrainbows
14 weeks ago

Nah I’m good. Zero point in installing this “update.”
Not true in the slightest. It improves a lot of things that were a bit iffy in prior 26.x releases. Also, no idea why you put update in quotes, but it is a good update.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
Stevez67
14 weeks ago

Why bother if there’s no Siri update? That’s the most important thing. Apple is also using Google servers, might as well just use Gemini.
Because there's more to developing a solid version of iOS 26.4 than Siri and AI.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
Minato1990
14 weeks ago
Hoping there’s a siri update in this one
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Z
Zenman12
14 weeks ago

Because not everything revolves around Siri. And it literally is not "the most important thing". I actually have Siri turned off because I never use it. Same with Apple Intelligence. And I am sure I am not alone in having these things disabled and that others do as well, I know my partner is the same as me.

26.4 adds and improves quite a few things that make 26.x better than it previously was even without the new Siri. Thinking that this update is pointless because it doesn’t add the new Siri is very much odd and doesn't make much sense.

By network issue I am guessing you mean the one where it would take ages for the App Store, Apple Games, etc to communicate with Apple's servers and refresh the apps with new data. Unless there's another network issue I'm missing. If there is then at least that one appears to be fixed.
I’m like bro, how can you live without hold assist and phone call/message filtering?

This, alone, has been a godsend. And that is ignoring other great features that are not in iOS 18.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianlondon Avatar
adrianlondon
14 weeks ago

does this sentence make sense?
Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple provided the beta to developers.
The "macrumors bot" needs to learn that only using cut & paste isn't always the best way to create a thread.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eveluvsrainbows Avatar
eveluvsrainbows
14 weeks ago

Why bother if there’s no Siri update? That’s the most important thing. Apple is also using Google servers, might as well just use Gemini.
Because not everything revolves around Siri. And it literally is not "the most important thing". I actually have Siri turned off because I never use it. Same with Apple Intelligence. And I am sure I am not alone in having these things disabled and that others do as well, I know my partner is the same as me.

26.4 adds and improves quite a few things that make 26.x better than it previously was even without the new Siri. Thinking that this update is pointless because it doesn’t add the new Siri is very much odd and doesn't make much sense.

So far, it looks like the network issue has been resolved.
By network issue I am guessing you mean the one where it would take ages for the App Store, Apple Games, etc to communicate with Apple's servers and refresh the apps with new data. Unless there's another network issue I'm missing. If there is then at least that one appears to be fixed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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