The last year has been an exciting one for CarPlay, with CarPlay Ultra launching and iOS 26 bringing some of the biggest CarPlay changes in years. Now iOS 26.4 is set to continue this positive trend, showing that CarPlay’s best days may be ahead.
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iOS 26.4 is packed with new features and changes, including five updates for the Music app. Here’s everything new for Apple Music in iOS 26.4.
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In this new episode of iOS Decoded, we take a deep dive into what’s new in iOS 26.4 beta 1, with in-depth looks at dozens of new features and changes. For example, we get our first look at the Notification Forwarding setup for third-party smart watches and other hardware devices in the EU, along with new iCloud.com functionality that brings secure Photos and iCloud Drive search to the web.
In this post, we’ll consider five standout features included with the update, but watch the full video for a look at everything new, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more in-depth walkthroughs.
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Starting with iOS 26, Apple will officially allow video playback through CarPlay. Released this week in beta, iOS 26.4 appears to be the first version with support, as long as two conditions are met. While CarPlay video playback isn’t ready for users yet, one developer has shown off how it will look as well as how Apple’s TV app looks in the car.
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Apple released iOS 26.4 beta 1 yesterday, and the update includes a variety of changes and new features. In addition to everything we’ve covered so far, there are two specific changes to the Health app: updates to the Vitals metric and sleep tracking.
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Apple has released the first iOS 26.4 public beta version for iPhone. iOS 26.4 includes a number of exciting new features and changes, including AI-powered Apple Music updates.
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iOS 26.4 is here, at least in beta form, and delving into the code has revealed that Apple is preparing for CarPlay to let you watch videos when parked.
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iOS 26.4 beta 1 debuted yesterday, packing a wide array of new features, including a change for personal hotspot that makes it easy to see who’s using your data.
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iOS 26.4 beta 1 is now available in beta for developers. The update includes a ton of new features and changes for iPhone users. There are new changes to the Music app, Messages, Apple Podcasts, and much more. Head below for the full roundup of all the new features in iOS 26.4 beta 1.
Update February 17, 2026: Now available for public beta testers as well.
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iOS 26.4 is the next big iPhone software release, and Apple plans to enable a key security feature by default in the update.
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As part of iOS 26.4, Apple is upgrading its Podcasts app to “bring advanced video podcast capabilities” to creators and listeners, Apple says. The new “enhanced video podcast experience” will allow users to seamlessly switch between viewing a video podcast and listening to the audio.
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Apple added RCS support to iPhone with iOS 18.1, enabling richer cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android users. This included things like typing indicators, read receipts, and high-resolution photo and video attachments.
Last March, Apple announced its plans to add support for end-to-end encryption for RCS messages.
Now, iOS 26.4 beta 1, which is rolling out today, adds an early way to test end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging on iPhone.
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Apple has released the first iOS 26.4 beta for iPhone. While we originally expected iOS 26.4 to include upgraded Siri, it sounds like we won’t see those changes just yet.
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Despite inking a deal with Google to use Gemini AI as the brains behind upgraded Siri, Apple is reportedly facing internal challenges in getting the final product ready for prime time. The reported delays could stretch into iOS 27 this fall. Apple first announced a more capable version of Siri in 2024; that update hasn’t shipped yet.
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iOS 26.4 is set to be one of the most important updates ever for the iPhone, offering a suite of new Apple Intelligence and Siri features. A new report from Bloomberg today reveals Apple’s timeline for launching iOS 26.4.
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The iOS 26.3 RC debuted yesterday, which means the first iOS 26.4 beta will be dropping soon too. Here is every rumored new feature that iOS 26.4 is expected to bring.
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Earlier this month, Apple and Google officially announced that they’d be partnering together. Apple has long struggled with its own model development, so now, Google Gemini models will power future Apple Intelligence features, using Apple’s private cloud compute servers.
Today, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that this partnership is on track to debut in iOS 26.4 beta as soon as next month, and Apple plans to demonstrate the features to the public in some capacity. He also reports some interesting new details on how this partnership came to be.
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Apple’s big Siri upgrades are expected to ship as part of iOS 26.4, and a new report indicates they might come with a very convenient new feature for Apple Notes users.
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Over the past year or so, we’ve heard a plethora of Health app related rumors. Tim Cook has stated that one of Apple’s largest contributions to society will be in health, and this series of upgrades will be a key part of that vision. We’ll be recapping those upgrades, and you should be seeing them on your iPhone in just a few months.
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Apple’s long-delayed AI upgrades for Siri are set to finally launch this year. Here’s the expected release date for the new and improved Siri.
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Leaked code from an unreleased build of iOS 26 reportedly contains references to several new features in the works for iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 next year. Here’s what the code reveals.
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