iOS 26.4 is coming: Here are my four favorite new features

iOS 26.4 is launching later this month, and it’s a big update of new iPhone features. Here are my four favorite iOS 26.4 features coming soon.

#1: Apple Music’s ‘playlist playground’

Apple Music gains several new features in iOS 26.4, including one exciting AI capability: ‘Playlist playground.’

The playlist playlist allows you to create new playlists without text prompts.

The music app provides suggested instructions to choose from, but you can also start from scratch and write whatever you want.

After the Playlist Platform has created a new playlist, you can provide additional input to modify it, or manually add or remove songs as you like.

I love how Playlist Playground makes it easy to create playlists. It makes it difficult to find the right music for my current situation.

#2: New emoji

Apple usually adds new emoji to the iPhone once a year, and the latest batch is in iOS 26.4.

New emojis include:

• Ballet dancer
• Inverted Face
• Fight Cloud
• Furry Creature
• A landslide
• Orca
• Trombone
• Treasure chest

My personal favorites so far are Distorted Face, Fight Cloud, Hairy Creature, and Treasure Chest. I can see them joining my regular emoji rotation.

#3: Video development on Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts has supported video podcasts for years, but the feature grew stagnant and was not used by creators. With the growing popularity of video shows on YouTube and Spotify, Apple had to improve its own—and iOS 26.4 looks to deliver.

Apple offers the Podcasts app a new and improved video experience. I haven’t been able to test it yet in beta, but here’s what Apple says it’s coming:

In the Apple Podcasts app, users will be able to seamlessly switch between watching and listening to shows, making the experience of finding and watching video podcasts as easy and enjoyable as listening to podcasts has always been. Users can watch video within the app and go to full horizontal display, and download videos to watch offline. And the automatic quality adjustment powered by HLS technology ensures optimal playback in all network conditions, delivering the best possible experience whether listeners are on Wi-Fi or with a mobile connection. Video episodes will be integrated with existing features that Apple Podcasts users already love, including personalized recommendations and editing on new tab and Category pages.

The Podcasts app has become my favorite podcast client because of two great features: automatic scripts and chapters. I’m excited to see the video experience changed again.

#4: New design for Apple Music albums and playlists

Another Apple Music feature is among my favorites in iOS 26.4: the new full-screen design for albums and playlists.

Now, the UI of the music app is fully colored to match the color of the album or playlist art.

It’s a great effect that makes the app feel fresh and customized to whatever you’re listening to.

To find out more about the new features coming with iOS 26.4, check out our full guide here.

What new iOS 26.4 features did you enjoy the most in the beta, or are you particularly looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.

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