March 5, 2026, 10:29 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Apple has released the third beta of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 for developers. The test version comes a week after the second beta. Registered developers can download the software as usual through the settings under “General” and “Software Update.” The update brings several new features for iPhone and iPad. Notably, however, there are still no new Siri features included.
New Emojis Are Coming
Back in September 2025, the Unicode Consortium introduced the emojis that will appear with Unicode 17.0. Included are nine completely new elements: trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature, battle cloud, apple core, orca, and ballet dancer.
In the first two beta versions of iOS 26.4, these emojis were still missing. However, in Beta 3, there are initial indications that Apple is working on the implementation. When you enter the official names in the emoji search field on the iPhone keyboard, a placeholder symbol in the form of a square with a question mark now appears. In previous beta versions, the search yielded no results. It is unclear whether the new emojis will come with iOS 26.4 or a later version.
iOS 26.4 Is Here! Should You Install the Update Right Away?
iOS 26.4 Fixes Annoying Keyboard Bug
Improvements in Liquid Glass
Since the introduction of the new Liquid Glass interface, Apple has made several adjustments to improve readability. In iOS 26.4 Beta 3, further changes are included that increase contrast in several system elements–including Apple Music, Safari, and the App Store.
Additionally, the user interface in a few apps is slightly altered after the update. In the App Store, for example, the button for the search function is no longer separate but integrated directly into the navigation bar.
Further Innovations in iOS 26.4
- Playlist Playground: Generate playlists in Apple Music via text input.
- Concerts Near You: Apple Music shows concerts based on user location.
- Apple Podcasts will soon support native video podcasts.
- RCS: Apple is testing end-to-end encryption for chats between Android and iOS.
- Protection for Stolen Devices is enabled by default in iOS 26.4.
- Background Music gets its own widget for playing soundscapes.