What's New in iOS 26.4 Beta 3

Beta Software iOS & iPadOS
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Apple today seeded iOS 26.4 beta 3 to developers. This release doesn’t introduce many new features, focusing instead on fixing issues discovered in beta 2. Here’s everything I’ve spotted in iOS 26.4 beta 3 so far.

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In case you missed it, here’s what was added in iOS 26.4 Beta 2: What’s New in iOS 26.4 Beta 2 →

iOS 26.4 Developer Beta 3 v.2
Build: 23E5223k
Released: March 5, 2026

Updated March 5: Apple has re-released iOS 26.4 Beta 3 with a new build, but there are no changes in this release. It simply matches the build of iOS 26.4 Public Beta 3 that was released today.

iOS 26.4 beta 3 doesn’t include any major new features, but it does introduce a few bug fixes and minor additions, including updates related to new emoji.

New emoji added (sort of)

Apple has added new emoji to the emoji keyboard in iOS 26.4 beta 3, as expected. However, they currently appear as blank squares with question marks instead of proper emoji graphics. This is almost certainly a bug and will likely be fixed soon.

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Here are the emojis found in iOS 26.4 beta 3:

  • Trombone
  • Treasure Chest
  • Distorted Face
  • Fight Cloud
  • Ballet Dancer
  • Hairy Creature
  • Orca
  • Landslide

“Reduce Highlighting Effects” still not working

The Reduce Highlighting Effects toggle was added in iOS 26.4 beta 2 under Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, but it still doesn’t function in beta 3. Enabling it makes no visible difference to the Liquid Glass interface.

There has been speculation that this option would remove the subtle glow around Liquid Glass elements or reduce the HDR glow effect when tapping Liquid Glass buttons. For now, we’ll have to wait and see what “Reduce Highlighting Effects” is ultimately intended to do.

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Playlist Playground

The AI-powered Apple Music playlist creation feature is still not working outside the United States.

Other bug fixes

  • Fixed an issue where the “Done” button while editing wallpapers overlapped the battery icon
  • Fixed a bug that prevented composing emails in Gmail (via u/brandi-95)
  • The bug causing the App Store and the Games app to open and load slowly has been fixed

I’ll keep adding more iOS 26.4 Beta 3 changes and new features here as I discover them. Stay tuned and follow @BetaProfiles on X or Threads!

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2 Likes
What's New in iOS 26.4 Beta 4
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Reduce highlights makes it so when you tilt the iPhone, it reduce that moving glare. It works for me

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I still don’t see any difference when turning on “Reduce Highlighting Effects.” Do you have Low Power Mode enabled? Because if LPM is turned on, it can produce a similar effect to what you mentioned.

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LPM is off, i guess that the purpose of it is to reduce the specular highlights or glowing from the Liquid Glass UI, but yeah many user reports that it’s not functional or like a placeholder, idk maybe is just my wallpaper or impression.

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I think so too. Since it’s Apple Launch week, they’re probably not putting much focus on iOS 26.4 beta right now.

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It’s a shame, so much advertising and then everything is in smoke, we’ll wait for the next version jump to see if they get it right, you would have to do like the Greeks Tim consult the oracle!! :laughing: :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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I’ve lowered my expectations for the new Siri. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t arrive until… iOS 27 :grimacing:

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After seeing everything we have seen and especially expected, I am with you, I think the same!!! :smiley: :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: