CUPERTINO: Apple has rolled out an operating system update for iPhones with several new features, including offline music recognition.
Once your iPhone has updated to iOS 26.4, if you tap the Shazam button in the quick settings you can identify a song even without an active internet connection – though the results will only appear later once the user is back online.
Meanwhile in the accessibility settings, Apple is adding extra options for anyone who wants to reduce Liquid Glass animations and bright elements on the display.
These include a "Reduce Bright Effects" toggle, which minimises bright flashing when tapping elements such as buttons and the setting "Reduce Motion", which is intended to reliably tone down animations, for example for people who are sensitive to movement on the screen.
Other new features in iOS 26.4 include support for the new Apple headphones AirPods Max 2 and eight new emoji including a landslide, an orca and a trombone.
Apple also said it has improved the input accuracy of the virtual keyboard. This means that fast typing should also be correctly captured in future.
The update also fixes numerous security vulnerabilities, some of them critical. It is available to download for the iPhone 11 through the iPhone 17 and for the iPhone SE (2nd generation).
To start the download and installation, users open "Settings/General/Software Update" and then simply select the update, tap "Download and Install" and follow the instructions. – dpa
