Apple released the RC of iOS 26.4 on March 18, and that means one thing: the public version is days away. The release candidate is the build Apple considers ready for general release unless a last-minute bug forces a second RC. Based on Apple’s consistent history with its spring updates, iOS 26.4 should land on all iPhones as early as Monday, March 23.
The RC carries build number 23E244 and covers iOS, iPadOS, macOS Tahoe 26.4, watchOS, tvOS, HomePod OS, and visionOS: a full ecosystem update.
When Will iOS 26.4 Release?
Historically, Apple releases the final version five to seven days after the RC. Based on that pattern and when the RC dropped, expect iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 to land on Monday, March 23, or Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
If Apple discovers a significant bug that requires a second RC build first, the release could slip to later in the week or into the following week. Either way, iOS 26.4 should reach all users within the next seven days.
Apple Music Gets Five Major New Features
Apple Music is the headline upgrade in iOS 26.4, with five distinct updates arriving at once.
Playlist Playground is the most discussed addition — an AI-powered tool that lets you generate a playlist from a text description. Type something like “upbeat 90s pop for a road trip” and Apple Intelligence builds a custom playlist around it. Playlist Playground is launching in the United States first and will expand to other regions in future updates.
Full-screen album artwork brings a redesigned album and playlist view where cover art fills the entire screen, with the dominant colour influencing the interface background — creating a more immersive browsing experience.
Concerts adds a new section to the Apple Music app showing upcoming live shows for artists in your library, with tour dates and location-based recommendations.
Ambient Music widgets let you start mood-based playlists — Sleep, Focus, Relaxation, and more — directly from the home screen without opening the app.
The fifth Apple Music update is a visual redesign of the Profile section that consolidates your account, subscriptions, and playlists in one place.
Offline Music Recognition: Shazam Without Internet
A standout feature in iOS 26.4 that has flown under the radar: Shazam is now integrated directly into Control Center and works offline. You can identify a song playing around you without an internet connection, and the result syncs to your Shazam history automatically once you reconnect. Whether you are on a plane, hiking, or in a dead zone — you can still Shazam a track.
Stolen Device Protection Is Now On by Default
Stolen Device Protection, which Apple introduced in iOS 17 as an opt-in feature, is now enabled by default for all users in iOS 26.4. The feature adds a one-hour security delay to sensitive actions — like changing your Apple ID password or disabling Find My — when your iPhone detects it is away from your usual locations. Users who had previously turned it off will not have it re-enabled automatically, but all new setups and resets will have it active from the start.
Apple Podcasts Gets Video Playback Support
The Podcasts app gains a significantly upgraded video podcast experience. Using HTTP Live Streaming, users can now switch between watching and listening to a video podcast without any interruption. Downloading video episodes for offline playback is also now supported — a long-requested feature for commuters and travellers.
Freeform App Upgrades
The Freeform collaborative whiteboard app receives new image editing tools with greater precision and a premium content library with an expanded range of design elements.
New Emoji
iOS 26.4 adds a new batch of emoji as part of the Unicode standard update. Apple has not published the full list, but the additions have been visible across all four beta builds and will be available system-wide at launch.
CarPlay Video and AI Chatbot Support
CarPlay is gaining support for AI chatbot apps, opening the in-car interface to apps like ChatGPT and others. Video playback support is also continuing to roll out gradually in this update.
Accessibility Improvements
iOS 26.4 adds a Reduce Bright Effects setting that minimises flashing or highlighting during interactions — a meaningful update for users with photosensitivity. Liquid Glass animation transitions also receive improvements, with the existing Reduce Motion setting now more reliably suppressing animations across the entire OS. Subtitle and caption settings gain new options for text size, font, and background style during video playback.
What Is Not in iOS 26.4
Two features that were tested during the beta cycle did not make the final RC.
RCS end-to-end encryption — tested in betas 1 through 3 before being removed in beta 4 — is still not in the RC. Apple confirmed it is coming in a future update. Messages between iPhones and Android devices via RCS remain unencrypted for now.
A new Siri — Apple’s major overhaul of its AI assistant, powered by Google Gemini and codenamed Campos, is not in iOS 26.4. That is now expected with iOS 27 in September, previewed at WWDC in June.
What Comes After iOS 26.4
iOS 26.5 Beta 1 is expected to roll out shortly after iOS 26.4 ships publicly. iOS 26.5 is the update many are watching closely — it is rumoured to introduce the first Gemini-powered Siri features and early Apple Intelligence framework changes before the full iOS 27 overhaul in September.
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