Release record

iOS 26.4

Full article

Public release

Recorded milestones: 7
Beta cycle: 36d
Average interval: 6d
Public release: Mar 24, 2026

Release notes

Overview

Editorial synthesis with inline references and a source ledger when citations are available.

iOS 26.4 was a substantial spring update centered on Apple Music discovery and creation, accessibility controls, AirPods Max 2 support, productivity improvements, and a stronger default security posture for newly configured devices.^[1]^[2]

Apple’s live developer notes contained approximately 13 topic areas and 17 listed items when reviewed on July 29, 2026; those counts may change as Apple revises the page.^[3]

Source ledger

References

Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.

About iOS 26 Updates
Apple Support · 2026-07-29 · iOS 26.4
Back to text ↑
iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Release Notes
Apple Developer · 2026-07-29 · Overview
Back to text ↑
iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Release Notes
Apple Developer · 2026-07-29
Back to text ↑
About the Security Content of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4
Apple Support · 2026-07-29 · iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4
iOS 26.4 (23E246)
Apple Developer · 2026-07-29 · Release title and build

Documented & observed

Changes in this version

Source-linked features, fixes, known issues, removals, and community-observed behavior recorded across this version’s appearances and verified builds.

Release changes

Changed in this release

Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.

bugFix · fixed

SwiftUI current user-activity fix

documentedconfirmed

The archived beta note marks SwiftUI's stale current-user-activity behavior as resolved.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · SwiftUI — Resolved Issues; issue 163136831

developerApi · introduced

StoreKit transaction revocation fields

documentedconfirmed

The initial beta note adds two revocation-related properties to StoreKit transaction data.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · StoreKit — New Features; issue 148858551

knownIssue · knownIssue

External HFS automount known issue

documentedconfirmed

The shared iOS and iPadOS beta note records an automatic-mount failure for HFS external media and labels its command-line workaround as macOS-only.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · External Media — Known Issues; issue 168672160

developerApi · introduced

Offline Background Assets inspection and refresh APIs

documentedconfirmed

The initial archived beta note documents offline status queries and an API for ensuring that the latest asset-pack version is available locally.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Background Assets — New Features; issues 164498466 and 166237389

bugFix · fixed

PAC configuration run-loop source leak fix

documentedconfirmed

The beta note documents corrected ownership behavior around proxy auto-configuration callbacks and their returned Core Foundation objects.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Networking — Resolved Issues; issues 166839810 and FB21376045

knownIssue · knownIssue

Reality Composer export known issue

documentedconfirmed

The archived note records an empty export menu that prevented Reality Composer projects from being exported in the documented formats.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Reality Composer — Known Issues; issue 170091896

feature · introduced

RCS end-to-end encryption testing between Apple devices

documentedconfirmed

Apple's initial beta note limits this RCS encryption test to Apple-device conversations and says it was not shipping to customers in 26.4.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Messages — New Features; issue 170160585

knownIssue · knownIssue

SwiftUI RealityKit animation-grouping limitation

documentedconfirmed

Apple documents that overlapping implicit animations can remain independent and overwrite a property when their targeted component-property sets differ.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · SwiftUI — Known Issues; issue 169723142

knownIssue · knownIssue

Background Assets download-crash known issue

documentedconfirmed

The beta note warns that an asset-pack download could crash the application and provides relaunch guidance.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Background Assets — Known Issues; issue 169648111

bugFix · fixed

UIKit keyboard-notification delivery fix

documentedconfirmed

The initial beta note marks unreliable keyboard-notification delivery as fixed.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · UIKit — Resolved Issues; issue 165479264

knownIssue · knownIssue

Feedback close-button known issue

documentedconfirmed

The initial beta note records an unresponsive close control after submitting a crash or panic report, with locking and unlocking as a workaround.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Feedback — Known Issues; issue 170091186

developerApi · introduced

Full Memory Integrity Enforcement opt-in

documentedconfirmed

The archived beta note says applications can opt in to the full protection mode for stronger memory-safety enforcement.

Recorded at Beta 1

[1] Archived iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Beta Release Notes — February 19 snapshot · Memory Integrity Enforcement for Applications — New Features; issue 160719439

security · changed

Automatic Stolen Device Protection on new setups

documentedconfirmed

Stolen Device Protection became automatic on newly configured or restored devices, strengthening default protection against account and credential changes.

Recorded at Public

[1] What’s New for Enterprise in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 · iOS 26.4 enterprise and security behavior

enhancement · changed

Expanded visual and caption accessibility controls

documentedconfirmed

Reduce Bright Flashes, Liquid Glass motion adjustments, and caption controls expanded visual and media accessibility options.

Recorded at Public

[1] About iOS 26 Updates · iOS 26.4 — Accessibility

feature · introduced

Playlist Playground and concert discovery

documentedconfirmed

Playlist Playground supported prompt-guided playlist creation, while Concerts added artist and nearby-show discovery.

Recorded at Public

[1] About iOS 26 Updates · iOS 26.4 — Apple Music

developerApi · changed

Background Assets state and download reliability

documentedconfirmed

Developers could determine offline and latest local availability, and an asset-pack download crash was fixed.

Recorded at Public

[1] iOS & iPadOS 26.4 Release Notes · Background Assets

enhancement · changed

Offline Music Recognition and Ambient Music widget

documentedconfirmed

The release added offline recognition history and an Ambient Music widget for faster access to supported listening modes.

Recorded at Public

[1] About iOS 26 Updates · iOS 26.4 — Music Recognition and widgets

enhancement · changed

AirPods Max 2, emoji, Freeform, and Reminders additions

documentedconfirmed

iOS 26.4 added AirPods Max 2 support, eight emoji, Freeform creation tools, and urgent Reminders behavior.

Recorded at Public

[1] About iOS 26 Updates · iOS 26.4 — Additional features

Milestones

Release history

Every recorded channel appearance in chronological order. Open an appearance for any available build, scope, notes, and sources.

Feb 16, 2026
Developer beta
Beta 1
Full articleEditorially verified
The first retained raw Apple DocC state after iOS 26.4 Beta 1 and before Beta 2 documents Background Assets APIs and limitations, memory protection, RCS encryption testing, networking, StoreKit, SwiftUI, UIKit, Feedback, external media, and Reality Composer.
Availability
available
Sources
14 linked
Open this appearance
Feb 23, 2026+7 days
Developer beta
Beta 2
Source-linked recordSources linked
Availability
available
Sources
1 linked
Open this appearance
Mar 2, 2026+7 days
Developer beta
Beta 3
Source-linked recordSources linked
Availability
available
Sources
1 linked
Open this appearance
Mar 5, 2026+3 days
Developer beta
Beta 3 v2
Source-linked recordSources linked
Build 23E5223k
Availability
available
Sources
1 linked
Open this appearance
Mar 9, 2026+4 days
Developer beta
Beta 4
Source-linked recordSources linked
Availability
available
Sources
1 linked
Open this appearance
Mar 18, 2026+9 days
Release candidate
RC
Source-linked recordSources linked
Availability
available
Sources
1 linked
Open this appearance
Mar 24, 2026+6 days
Public release
Public
Source-linked recordEditorially verified
The public iOS 26.4 release combined consumer features, accessibility work, accessory support, background-asset reliability, and stronger protection on newly configured devices.
Build
23E246
Availability
available
Sources
9 linked
Open this appearance

Historical context

Cycle comparison

Pace, intervals, and duration compared with earlier releases on the same platform.

Historical avg for .4 releases

51 days, 6.4 milestones

Based on 9 previous iOS .4 releases

Cycle vs. platform average

36d (avg: 58d)

22 days shorter than the iOS average

Longest gap in this cycle

9 days

Between Beta 4 and RC

Previous .4 releases (iOS)

Previous comparable iOS releases
Version	Year	Cycle	Milestones	Avg. Interval
iOS 18.4	2025	38d	7	6d
iOS 17.4	2024	40d	7	7d
iOS 16.4	2023	39d	6	8d
iOS 15.4	2022	46d	7	8d
iOS 14.4	2021	41d	4	14d
iOS 13.4	2020	48d	7	8d

Scroll horizontally to compare every historical field.

Official release notes