Cupertino, February 8, 2026, 22:34 (PST)
- The first developer beta of iOS 26.4 should drop during the week of Feb. 23, with a broader rollout planned for late March
- According to Forbes, Apple might roll out the iOS 26.3 update as early as Monday, Feb. 9
- iOS 26.4 brings the long-awaited Siri and Apple Intelligence improvements, along with fresh emoji additions
Apple plans to roll out the first developer beta of iOS 26.4 during the week of Feb. 23, according to 9to5Mac, which cited Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This update is expected to bring the long-awaited Siri improvements and new Apple Intelligence features. A public beta might drop later this month or in early March, with a wider release possibly scheduled for late March. 9to5Mac
The timing is crucial since iOS 26.4 will be the first real chance to try out the Siri features Apple showed off at WWDC 2024 but then postponed. Back in March 2025, Apple spokeswoman Jacqueline Roy admitted it was “going to take us longer than we thought” to roll out the enhanced capabilities. Developer betas are early previews; what appears in them usually shapes expectations for the next public release. 9to5Mac
MacRumors, referencing Gurman’s Power On newsletter, reported that iOS 26.4 will bring “some components” of the Siri overhaul, while iOS 27 is expected to roll out further Apple Intelligence enhancements. Gurman also described this year’s WWDC as “a fairly muted affair,” with Apple prioritizing performance tweaks and bug fixes, the report noted. MacRumors
Apple’s next public software update is likely to be iOS 26.3, coming before iOS 26.4. Forbes reports it could drop as soon as Monday, Feb. 9, or sometime later that week. Forbes
On Feb. 4, Apple rolled out the iOS 26.3 RC—“release candidate,” meaning it’s almost the final version—to developers, as shown on its developer releases page. However, Apple’s security releases index still shows iOS 26.2.1 as the newest public update for iPhones. Apple Developer
A video breakdown highlighted by Geeky Gadgets reveals that iOS 26.3 will introduce a setting to restrict how accurately carriers can pinpoint a user’s location, along with smoother transfers from iPhone to Android. It also mentions updates to RCS (Rich Communication Services, the texting standard common on many Android devices) and notification forwarding to third-party smartwatches in the European Union, including Samsung’s Galaxy Watch. Geeky Gadgets
MacRumors reports that iOS 26.3 introduces an iPhone-to-Android transfer tool and, specifically in the EU, adds notification forwarding plus AirPods-style pairing for third-party accessories. These updates tie back to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which demands greater interoperability from “gatekeeper” platforms. The same piece says iOS 26.4 will roll out a “more personalized” Siri experience, with Apple and Google confirming that Google’s Gemini will play a role in that upgrade, alongside new emoji and other smaller tweaks. MacRumors
Apple describes one of the privacy features in iOS 26.3 as a carrier-side control. According to an Apple support document, the “Limit Precise Location” setting cuts down on how precise location data is for cellular networks, all without impacting signal quality. The company also clarified that this setting doesn’t alter the accuracy of location info sent to emergency responders, nor does it affect what apps receive through Location Services. Wsparcie Apple
TechCrunch highlighted the arrival of the carrier setting amid increasing concerns over how phone providers handle location data—whether via legal orders or unauthorized access. Gary Miller, a researcher at Citizen Lab and senior director of network intelligence at iVerify, noted, “Most people aren’t aware that devices can send location data outside of just apps.” TechCrunch
RCS is on the radar, too. Apple told 9to5Mac it played a key role in pushing the GSMA to include end-to-end encryption in the RCS Universal Profile, ensuring only sender and recipient can read messages. The company plans to “add support” for encrypted RCS messages across its platforms in upcoming software updates. According to 9to5Mac, iOS 26.3 RC still doesn’t include the enhanced RCS package, with those changes expected to arrive in early iOS 26.4 betas. 9to5Mac
The timeline isn’t set in stone. Apple hasn’t officially announced the iOS 26.4 beta release dates, and certain features—particularly those tied to carriers or specific regions—might roll out gradually or get delayed. Early betas typically come with bugs that developers and testers need to navigate.
Right now, all eyes are on the public release of iOS 26.3—will it hit early in the week? After that, the first test build for iOS 26.4 is expected to roll out sometime in February.
