Apple today released iOS 26.4 RC to developers, which means the public release could arrive as soon as next week. Here’s everything new discovered in iOS 26.4 RC so far.
Check out the full list of new features and changes in iOS 26.4 here: What’s New in iOS 26.4: All Features and Changes →
iOS 26.4 Release Candidate
Build: 23E244
Released: March 18, 2026
iOS 26.4 Release Day
With today’s RC release, iOS 26.4 seems to be nearing the end of its testing cycle, with a public release possibly coming as early as Monday, March 23.
For reference, here are some past release dates:
- iOS 18.4: Monday, March 31
- iOS 17.4: Tuesday, March 5
- iOS 16.4: Monday, March 27
That said, both iOS 18.4 and iOS 16.4 were released toward the end of March, so there’s also a chance Apple could seed a second RC next week, with the update rolling out to everyone on Monday, March 30.
Who knows, right? 
Finally Fixes the Keyboard
In the release notes, Apple says iOS 26.4 brings “improved keyboard accuracy when typing quickly.”
Many users have reported that the iOS 26 keyboard became significantly worse, often missing certain keystrokes when typing fast. Even though a key appears to be pressed, it sometimes doesn’t get registered in the final input.
Offline Music Recognition
Recognize Music in Control Center now supports offline song recognition, with results automatically showing up as a notification once you’re back online.
Here’s a comparison between iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 below 
Family Sharing Changes
Family Sharing gets a small but notable update in iOS 26.4. Adult members can now use their own payment methods for purchases, instead of being required to share a single payment method.
Full iOS 26.4 Release Notes
This update introduces Playlist Playground and Concerts in Apple Music, and 8 new emoji, along with other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.
Apple Music
- Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your description, complete with a title, description, and tracklist
- Concerts helps you discover nearby shows from artists in your library and recommends new artists based on what you listen to
- Offline Music Recognize in Control Center identifies songs without an internet connection and delivers results automatically when you’re back online
- Ambient Music widget for Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing brings curates playlists to the Home Screen
- Full screen backgrounds give album and playlist pages a more immersive look
Accessibility
- Reduce bright effects setting minimizes bright flashes when tapping on elements like buttons
- Subtitle and caption settings are available from the captions icon while viewing media, making them easier to find, customize, and preview
- Reduce Motion setting more reliably reduces the animations of Liquid Glass for users sensitive to screen motion
This update also includes the following enhancements:
- 8 new emjoji including an orca, trombone, landslide, ballet dancer, and distorted face are available in the emoji keyboard
- Freeform gains advanced image creation and editing tools, and a premium content library, joining Apple Creator Studio
- Mark reminders as urgent from the Quick Toolbar or by touching and holding, and filter for urgent reminders in your Smart Lists
- Purchase Sharing lets adult members in Family Sharing groups use their own payment method when making purchases, without relying on the family organizer
- Improved keyboard accuracy when typing quickly
I’m currently downloading and installing iOS 26.4 RC on my iPhone, and I’ll update all the features and changes in this update here soon. In the meantime, you can follow @BetaProfiles on X or Threads for quick posts about iOS 26.4 RC.
