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

[MacRumors]

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

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. Right now, Apple is testing RCS with iPhone-to-iPhone conversations.

The first beta didn't include new emoji, but we saw signs of them in the code so we might get them in the second 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.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Second Betas of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to Developers

 

[Jakesky123]

18.5 gb on my 17 pro! Big ol update

 

[winxmac]

Releases:
iOS 26.4 beta 2 (23E5218e)
iPadOS 26.4 beta 2 (23E5218e)
macOS 26.4 beta 2 (25E5218f)
tvOS 26.4 beta 2 (23L5219e)
visionOS 26.4 beta 2 (23O5220e)
watchOS 26.4 beta 2 (23T5221e)

Source

 

[Bobajobbob]

18.5 gb on my 17 pro! Big ol update

Probably the new emoji.

 

[Apple MessagePad]

MacRumors had claimed we wouldn't even get the first beta until March.

 

[Silberbogen]

On devices with M processors, the update is only about 1.2 GB in size, depending on the model. On the iPad A17 Pro, however, it is a whopping 12.32 GB.

 

[uniquestevejobs]

What ? I did Not Expect this before the Event

 

[theeaglesfan005]

18.5 gb on my 17 pro! Big ol update

interesting... only 1.38GB on my 17 Pro Max coming from beta 1

 

[axantas]

Not sure, if I am the only one, but Apple introduced a very nasty bug with the first Beta:
You need to enter the code for your device (iPad in my case) to install the update, but the onscreen keyboard is not popping up. So, no way to enter the code....

Restart - no help.
Connect a keyboard, if you run into that situation.🙄

 

[hagar]

So weird the same message about the missing Siri update keeps circulating. Apple never confirmed it would come in 26.4. That’s what the rumour mill hoped and keeps repeating.

The Google deal is far too recent for it to be completed and ready for rollout. A baby understands this.

 

[SactoGuy18]

This means iOS 26.4 supports GSMA Universal Profile 3.0 for RCS. Once implemented, that could start to chip away at WhatsApp, especially now most of the world have unlimited texting plans.

 

[Dmoney77]

This is a first! Apple really moving quickly with these betas.

 

[Jay Bly]

All right. I will say this. It’s only been about an hour playing with the new beta. But I can definitely tell the voice to text is a lot smoother.

 

[datsdatcharlie]

wish I could try this, need a new phone first

 

[evilnoodle]

Sadly the new playlist playground is not available in the UK still. Starting to worry that future Apple Intelligence features are going to be delayed too for the UK. Wonder if this is due to Google’s involvement in the features in some way

 

[rbgaynor]

Beta 2 fixed problem I was seeing on an M2 iPad Pro with Beta 1 where app updates would work once then require a reboot to work again.

 

[Jay Bly]

It seems like some of the menus might be slightly different. But I can’t quite put my finger on it and I wanna chime in.

 

[hussainh1]

I’m having an iMessage activation issue on all my peripheral devices like iPad and MacBook Pro. It’s working on my iPhone, but I can’t send iMessages or text messages from the messages app on either iPad Pro or MacBook Pro.

 

[macmac30]

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

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. Right now, Apple is testing RCS with iPhone-to-iPhone conversations.

The first beta didn't include new emoji, but we saw signs of them in the code so we might get them in the second 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.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Second Betas of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to Developers

Hey Apple, let’s think about making it easier for your users to update apps…not harder! Geeez…

 

[MacAddict1978]

So weird the same message about the missing Siri update keeps circulating. Apple never confirmed it would come in 26.4. That’s what the rumour mill hoped and keeps repeating.

The Google deal is far too recent for it to be completed and ready for rollout. A baby understands this.

Except you don't know when that Google deal happened - and there is the fact that they were already working with Google to use Gemini for Apple Idiocy for over a year - or that Google integrates Gemini on third party software every three seconds these days so it wouldn't be a big lift with all these things. Then Google already has integrations into IOS so there is that... Does a baby understand all that? If they partnered with Claude or some other AI platform I would agree.

Personally, just let me install Google Assistant on my phone as a default, stop forcing everyone to reskin WebKit and give me a real alternative browser, and don't make third party voice dication have to open up a url to work (and it doesn't work). Problem solved.

 

[Jay Bly]

So weird the same message about the missing Siri update keeps circulating. Apple never confirmed it would come in 26.4. That’s what the rumour mill hoped and keeps repeating.

The Google deal is far too recent for it to be completed and ready for rollout. A baby understands this.

Well, I don’t know if it’s just me. But I got also recommended that I use the new Google apps suggestion widget after I updated. Come on that’s gotta be a little bit of a clue.

 

[hagar]

Except you don't know when that Google deal happened - and there is the fact that they were already working with Google to use Gemini for Apple Idiocy for over a year - or that Google integrates Gemini on third party software every three seconds these days so it wouldn't be a big lift with all these things. Then Google already has integrations into IOS so there is that... Does a baby understand all that? If they partnered with Claude or some other AI platform I would agree.

Personally, just let me install Google Assistant on my phone as a default, stop forcing everyone to reskin WebKit and give me a real alternative browser, and don't make third party voice dication have to open up a url to work (and it doesn't work). Problem solved.

While, we don’t exactly know when the deal happened, we do know that Apple was in the proces of evaluating different models in the fall of 2025 so it can’t be much older.

I don’t see how ditching WebKit has any relevance to this topic. Also, switching the entire world to Chromium is not the way to go. The moment WebKit is gone, we’re stuck in a world with one major web engine. Not a good place to be in.

Second, if you want more choice, support the EU. We have more options on our iPhones than in the US.

And third, you can use the action button to summon any AI assistant you like. Granted, It’s not ideal.