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Apple Seeds Fourth Betas of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

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Apple today seeded the fourth 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 third betas to developers.

ios-26-4-pastel.jpg

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. 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.

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.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Fourth Betas of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/09/apple-seeds-ios-26-4-beta-4-to-developers/
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  • Wow
Reactions: Z-4195
Wooo, another step closer to the full release of Apple's purest vision of OS 26!


One more thing... It's time to get stoked for the impending release of the ALL NEW Siri, feature game-changing on-screen awareness that takes personalization to a whole new level with privacy only Apple can provide.

But seriously, I have a sneaking suspicion we won't see any more major additions to OS 26. Apple is dedicating their resources to OS 27.
 
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Reactions: Johnny907, eoblaed, UpsideDownEclair and 2 others
For those interested, this fixes the Geekbench 6 GPU Test bug where it crashed in the previous beta.
 
hieranonymous said:
Did Apple ever actually pinpoint 26.4 as the debut of New Siri or did I simply hallucinate that? It’s crazy how they announced New Siri all the way back in 2024 and it’s 2026 now with nary a new Siri.
Click to expand...
No, you’re not hallucinating. I remember that too. Notwithstanding, Apple has been extraordinarily successful at overpromising and underdelivering. 👨‍🔬
 
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Hopefully this beta finally fixes airplay cant airplay anything from my iPad running the beta

Edit: yes it appears to be fixed
 
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hieranonymous said:
Did Apple ever actually pinpoint 26.4 as the debut of New Siri or did I simply hallucinate that? It’s crazy how they announced New Siri all the way back in 2024 and it’s 2026 now with nary a new Siri.
Click to expand...
Digital Dude said:
No, you’re not hallucinating. I remember that too. Notwithstanding, Apple has been extraordinarily successful at overpromising and underdelivering. 👨‍🔬
Click to expand...
No, you heard someone say that Apple will definitely be releasing it for 26.4, then, when it wasn’t released, they said that Apple changed their minds. “Apple’s mind” always said “2026” and, from a cursory search, they generally release new Siri stuff at WWDC. Then again, I’m not a paid journalist, so basing my ideas on past reality is all I’ve got!

If you’re currently reading that Apple will announce new Siri in May, that’s the same person that believes Apple will announce anything major Siri related prior to WWDC.
 
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All right, let’s play with us for a little bit. Let’s see what we get. I’m guessing new emojis
 
hieranonymous said:
Did Apple ever actually pinpoint 26.4 as the debut of New Siri or did I simply hallucinate that? It’s crazy how they announced New Siri all the way back in 2024 and it’s 2026 now with nary a new Siri.
Click to expand...
They wisely (?) said “in the coming year” last year, but it was reported that they internally aimed for 26.4, which however didn’t pan out.

Personally I expect iOS 27 Siri to still be underwhelming.
 
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klasma said:
They wisely (?) said “in the coming year” last year, but it was reported that they internally aimed for 26.4, which however didn’t pan out.

Personally I expect iOS 27 Siri to still be underwhelming.
Click to expand...
I actually agree especially watching the latest Samsung s26 ai features along with pixel 10. I don’t expect anything useful anymore from new Siri which is disappointing. Had high hopes of from iPhone 16 but now I’m over it.

I 100% don’t expect a single new ai feature until iOS 27. Not one useful one.
 
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Not again!

I updated and this happened again. It had not happened in a long time.

When I try to file e-mails in the appropriate folders, everything wants to go to "Important," instead of the actual folders I had already trained Mail to suggest.

Example: E-mail from Wells Fargo, tap the folder icon to move message, and the default suggestion which Mail had already learned to suggest, in this case, "Wells Fargo," is not suggested. Instead, it suggests "Important."

This can be fixed, but only by repeatedly selecting the folder that a given sender's e-mail should go to.
 
hieranonymous said:
Did Apple ever actually pinpoint 26.4 as the debut of New Siri or did I simply hallucinate that? It’s crazy how they announced New Siri all the way back in 2024 and it’s 2026 now with nary a new Siri.
Click to expand...
No

You have to remember that ALL this stuff is made up rumour.

The trouble is when the likes of Gurman and Rumour sites begin to quote things as FACT - thats when expectations are let down.

Apple have NEVER said the new Siri would debut in 26.4 this is entirely made up.

Apple DID however state that the new Siri would debut in 2026 - so thats either a 26.x update or more likely a 27.x update.

Equally Apple have NVER announced even the existence of the 'homepad' and yet rumour sites and Gurman keep saying they are 'late' and 'delayed' where they arent late at all for a product they havent even announced.

Nobody is 'late' or 'missed deadlines' as the deadline Apple set for themselves is still wide open... they have another 10 months to debut Siri 2.0 and still deliver what they promised when they promised it (albeit with their own revision of course)
 
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stocklen said:
No

You have to remember that ALL this stuff is made up rumour.

The trouble is when the likes of Gurman and Rumour sites begin to quote things as FACT - thats when expectations are let down.

Apple have NEVER said the new Siri would debut in 26.4 this is entirely made up.

Apple DID however state that the new Siri would debut in 2026 - so thats either a 26.x update or more likely a 27.x update.

Equally Apple have NVER announced even the existence of the 'homepad' and yet rumour sites and Gurman keep saying they are 'late' and 'delayed' where they arent late at all for a product they havent even announced.

Nobody is 'late' or 'missed deadlines' as the deadline Apple set for themselves is still wide open... they have another 10 months to debut Siri 2.0 and still deliver what they promised when they promised it (albeit with their own revision of course)
Click to expand...
But we are right in thinking they said they’d introduce the new Siri features in iOS 18 sooooo…. Deadline missed 😂
 
hieranonymous said:
Did Apple ever actually pinpoint 26.4 as the debut of New Siri or did I simply hallucinate that? It’s crazy how they announced New Siri all the way back in 2024 and it’s 2026 now with nary a new Siri.
Click to expand...

Digital Dude said:
No, you’re not hallucinating. I remember that too. Notwithstanding, Apple has been extraordinarily successful at overpromising and underdelivering. 👨‍🔬
Click to expand...

Unregistered 4U said:
No, you heard someone say that Apple will definitely be releasing it for 26.4, then, when it wasn’t released, they said that Apple changed their minds. “Apple’s mind” always said “2026” and, from a cursory search, they generally release new Siri stuff at WWDC. Then again, I’m not a paid journalist, so basing my ideas on past reality is all I’ve got!

If you’re currently reading that Apple will announce new Siri in May, that’s the same person that believes Apple will announce anything major Siri related prior to WWDC.
Click to expand...

They didn't even say 2026. They said "over the coming year" which I immediately took to mean "December 2026 for first beta" which seems accurate at this point.
 
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What_Is_George said:
Really thought that playlist feature was going to be great, and I am just really let down. ALSO.. is the new Siri the friends we made along the way?
Click to expand...
it did a pretty good job creating a 4-hour playlist for a family drive, incorporating songs for all ages in the car while also making sure no songs had explicit lyrics. That saved me a good amount of time. I only wish you could continue to edit a playlist using the AI tool after it’s created. Forgive me if you can already.
 
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