It has only been a week since the third iOS 26.4 Developer Beta update dropped and Apple is now back again with the fourth developer beta update of iOS 26.4. The latest iOS build has further tweaked the Liquid Glass interface in iPhones with changes in apps, settings and more.
iOS 26.4 Developer Beta 4 brings RCS encryption and accessibility changes
The latest iOS 26.4 Developer Beta 4 update comes right after Apple released a second iOS 26.4 Developer Beta 3 a few days ago. It has brought underlying software fixes and improvements for iOS 26-supported devices and retains every new feature introduced with the previous iOS 26.4 builds.
One of the major additions with iOS 26.4 has been support for encrypted RCS messages. It is now widely rolling out in the fourth developer beta update. iPhone owners can now enjoy end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for messages shared between Apple Messages and Google Messages.
Also, the new iOS update has introduced minor Liquid Glass tweaks. For instance, the bottom tab inside the Games app now integrates the Search tab alongside the Home, Arcade, Friends, and Library tabs. Users can click the search option to find installed games on their iPhones. It moves the search bar to the top when accessed.
Another area where iOS 26.4 Developer Beta 4 has brought change is in accessibility. The Accessibility settings page now comes with a new “Reduce Highlighting Effects” toggle in the Display & Text Size menu, aimed at reducing the effects around the edges of buttons and sliders.
Lastly, with the fourth developer beta, Apple has continued to keep the AI-powered Playlist Playground feature in Apple Music intact. It also carries forward the full-screen album art display from the iOS 26.4 Public Beta 1 update. The Apple Podcasts app also now supports video podcasts and the Stolen Device Protection feature stays on by default.
That said, eligible users can update to the latest iOS 26.4 Developer Beta 4 build by going to Settings> General> Software Update> Update Now. The update is currently going live from the iPhone 11 to the latest iPhone 17e.
