Apple has finally released its latest iOS update, bringing over a dozen new features and improvements for millions of iPhone and iPad users around the world.
The new iOS 26.4 is available on all handsets from iPhone 11 onward and most iPads after 2018, bringing changes to Apple Music, Podcast, and TV, without even mentioning eight brand new emojis.
Some of these new improvements will utilize artificial intelligence to enhance the user experience, with Apple customers even able to take advantage of a new offline music-identifying feature that works like Shazam
While the emojis will likely get the most use of the updated operating system's new features, users can also expect a number of improvements that will make their technology more accessible and easier to use.
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Below you will find all of the improvements landing with iOS 26.4.
New Apple Music playlist curation
The biggest changes landing with the new iOS affect Apple Music, including the introduction of the new Playlist Underground, which uses AI to generate a whole playlist for you based off a short description.
This feature will be joining the more immersive layout in the app, with playlists and albums gaining a fullscreen background to improve users' visual experience while using Apple Music.
Users will be able to curate their music tastes even further, with Apple also rolling out an Ambient Music widget so that you can add curated sleep, exercise, and wellbeing playlists to your home screen.
Alongside a new 'Concerts' feature which alerts you to gigs by musicians you enjoy listening to, Apple Music will also gain better recommendation functionality to help people find new artists they might like.
And if they simply can't remember the name of any track they're listening to, Apple customers will now also be able to use an offline Shazam-like feature to track down that tune.
Videos of your favorite podcasts
Another major feature coming for the audiophiles out there is a similar visual improvement to Apple Podcasts, which is adding a feature familiar to many Spotify users.
Apple is officially joining the crowd and will now allow podcast fans to watch their favorite shows in the app, where previously only the audio version was available.
Any podcast listeners will be able to enable this feature on any of their shows that also record video, with the option to turn their device horizontal for a full screen viewing option.o
Eight more emojis
For those of us who use emojis as a replacement for words and sometimes whole sentences, one of the most important parts of the update are the eight brand new emojis being rolled out with iOS 26.4.
They are:
- Ballet Dancers
- Distorted Face
- Fight Cloud
- Hairy Creature (Bigfoot basically)
- Landslide
- Orca
- Trombone
- Treasure Chest
But while people try and figure out new meanings for these symbols, Apple have also included more skin tone options for older emojis like People Wrestling and People With Bunny Ears.
This means, between the new emojis and skin tones, there will be 163 more ways to personalize your visual vocabulary.
Small changes to Apple News and Apple TV
Improvements have also been made to two other major apps, with Apple TV getting a new 'Genius Browse' feature that recommends you new shows to watch based on your viewing history.
Meanwhile Apple News is set to feature more lifestyle options, with the food feed being enhanced with easy unit conversions and nutritional information to help users make a health-informed decision at mealtimes.
The news app will also feature more local news from around the US, as well as the latest information about F1, from races to driver statistics.
More accessibility features
Apple customers who enjoy customizing their experience are also getting more improvements in the new operating system, with three major accessibility changes for users.
People watching YouTube videos, or TV shows and films, will notice new subtitle settings under their favorite media. This will allow users to preview and change the appearance of captions.
Another option allows you to reduce the 'flashes' and other bright effects from tapping on certain on-screen elements like buttons, while motion-sensitive users will also be able to reduce the intensity of Liquid Glass animation.
Fresh quality of life improvements
Many iPhone users will notice some of the smaller quality of life alterations that Apple have made right away, with a long-awaited improvement to keyboard accuracy and a number of other changes.
These includes whiteboard app Freeform joining Apple Creator Studio with a whole new suite of 'advanced image creation and editing tools', as well as the ability to set reminders as 'urgent' by using the quick toolbar. Smart Lists also now have a filter for reminders.
In addition, families of Apple users will now be able to take advantage of 'Purchase Sharing', which allows each adult member of the family to use their own payment methods when purchasing.
Smaller changes include higher keyboard accuracy when typing at speed, a new hold assist that lets you know when a live agent is on the call, and 17 more languages supported by Live Translation when using the Messages app,
You can read the full iOS 26.4 patch notes on the Apple website.
Topics: Apple, iPhone, Technology
William Morgan