Apple releases iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4

Today Apple has released the latest versions of its operating systems. iOS 26.4 comes with an AI playlist generator for Apple Music, a similar feature to one Spotify already has (and launched in 2024).

It’s called Playlist Playground and will make a playlist based on a prompt, just as you’d expect. You can use moods, feelings, activities, or whatever else. There’s also an Ambient Music widget which lets you choose from Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing playlists curated by Apple.

New emojis are in as well: trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature, fight cloud, orca, landslide, and ballet dancer. A new setting lets you cut down on bright flashes when tapping buttons, and CarPlay gets support for third-party AI chatbots. Providers like OpenAI and Google will need to update their apps in order for this to work.

The Podcasts app has gained native video episode support with HLS streaming, the Sleep feature in the Health app now records average bedtime for the past two weeks, and Stolen Device Protection is now on by default, requiring biometric authentication for viewing passwords and turning off Lost Mode on the iPhone.

iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 also feature offline song recognition in Control Center, nearby concert suggestions and full-page album artwork in Apple Music, Apple Creator Studio support for Freeform, and a fix for a keyboard bug that caused typos when typing quickly.

Via