Just a week after releasing iOS 26.3 to the public, Apple has rolled out the iOS 26.4 developer beta. While there were heavy speculations about a revamped Siri coming in iOS 26.4, the first beta doesn’t include it but it does have a few other tricks up its sleeve. So without further ado, let’s take a look at what Apple is bringing to the table with its latest iOS offering.
Apple Podcasts
The Apple Podcasts app gets a new feature, ‘advanced video podcast capabilities’ (basically, a replica of YouTube Premium!). This feature will make it easier for users to switch between viewing a video and listening to an audio podcast. The video quality will adjust automatically according to the network speed. Honestly, Apple seems a bit late to this party but as they say, ‘better late than never’!
Apple Music
The folks at Apple seem to have finally acknowledged how dull the Apple Music user interface actually is, because with iOS 26.4 Beta, they have decided to revamp it. While going through albums and playlists, users will now get a new full-screen artwork.
Apple Music also gets a new feature, ‘Concerts Near You’, where users can find concerts and shows happening in their area, along with the dates and venues.
Playlist Playground
With the iOS 26.4 Beta update, Apple has introduced a major new feature to Apple Music called Playlist Playground. The feature lets users enter a prompt to receive automatic song suggestions. Based on that prompt, Playlist Playground generates a custom playlist of 25 songs complete with a personalized title. Users can further customise their playlists by choosing a cover image and adding a description.
Freeform Creator Studio
Freeform Creator Studio is now live in iOS 26.4, giving Creator Studio subscribers access to new Freeform features. The update adds a dedicated Content Hub with expanded shape options, along with exclusive high-quality graphics, photos and illustrations, plus AI-powered image creation and editing tools.
Apple previously said these premium Freeform features would roll out to Apple Creator Studio subscribers later this year.
Other Upgrades and Refinements
- Wallpaper Gallery: The latest developer beta update brings a redesigned Wallpaper Gallery, with wallpapers neatly organised into different categories. The refreshed interface looks cleaner and feels faster to navigate. Apple has also introduced a similar update to the Apple Watch face gallery in the new watchOS beta.
- Remainders: The Reminders app also gets a useful upgrade, with the addition of a new Smart List for tasks marked as Urgent. This builds on the Urgent setting Apple introduced in iOS 26.2 last year. When a task is marked as urgent, Reminders automatically sets an alarm to ensure the users don’t miss it.
- Stolen Device Protection: The Stolen Device Protection feature will now be enabled by default in iOS 26.4. It will require biometric authentication when users are away from trusted locations and add a delayed second biometric check for sensitive actions.
- App Store UI: In the App Store, apps and purchase history are now merged, with app updates moved to a dedicated section that takes an extra tap to access. The navigation bar also no longer includes a separate Search button, with the search bar now appearing at the top when selected.
While the iOS 26.4 beta doesn’t include the much-anticipated Siri 2.0, Apple has focused on refining the user experience across its apps. The update combines visual polish with a handful of smart additions.
But as the beta cycle continues, more updates, such as new emojis, are still expected in later builds. For now, the big question still remains: will Siri 2.0 arrive in the next update? We can only wait & watch!
