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By Thomas Westerholm
Life & Trends Reporter
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Apple’s next iPhone software update is getting closer to release, and the latest beta version of iOS 26.4 is giving developers and testers a preview of what’s coming next.
The update introduces a handful of smaller features and refinements as Apple prepares the software for a broader public rollout later this spring.
Among the most visible additions are new emoji characters, which regularly arrive with iOS updates and often generate significant interest among iPhone users.
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However, fans have voiced their displeasure over what they view as a glaring omission.
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Why It Matters
Apple’s iOS updates are closely watched by millions of iPhone users, particularly when new features, interface changes, or long-promised upgrades are expected.
Incremental updates like iOS 26.4 often focus on refinements, bug fixes and small additions rather than sweeping changes.
The latest beta also suggests Apple may be nearing the final testing stage before a wider public release.
What To Know
Apple released the fourth developer beta of iOS 26.4 this week, continuing a testing cycle that began earlier this year.
The update arrived roughly one week after the previous beta version.
According to a breakdown from MacRumors, the newest beta adds several changes and refinements, including a batch of additional emoji characters.
The new emojis include:
- Trombone
- Treasure chest
- Fight cloud
- Bigfoot
- Distorted face
- Land slide
- Orca
While emoji additions are often among the most visible changes for everyday users, many of the other adjustments in this beta are smaller system tweaks or interface updates.
What People Are Saying
Commenters on Reddit's r/apple forum are still hoping to see one fix in particular in iOS, which is still missing.
"Still no fix for the s***** keyboard smh," one commenter wrote, while another added, "Or Safari randomly deciding to delete what you just typed into the search bar."
"I am on the fence about leaving all of the ecosystem because of the keyboard on iOS," one commenter noted. "It is such a frustrating experience, and it’s been that way for a long time now."
When one commenter asked why it was such an issue, another replied, "Autocorrect has been really aggressively bad for a lot of folks for a while now.
"They tried to make it 'smarter,' and sometimes it is, but too often it ends up changing things that were already correct, adding extra words to the ends of messages, etc."
What’s Next
Apple typically releases several developer betas before issuing a release candidate version of new software.
Based on Apple’s usual release schedule and the ongoing beta testing process, iOS 26.4 could be released to all iPhone users sometime in March or April.
Newsweek has reached out to Apple for comment via email.
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