Apple’s latest iOS 26 beta is now available to developers, and if history repeats, this may be the version that public beta testers will receive soon. While beta 4 isn’t a sweeping overhaul, it does introduce a series of refinements—many addressing user feedback from earlier betas—and marks the return of Apple Intelligence-powered Notification Summaries. Here’s a look at what’s new, what’s improved, and what’s been quietly retired.
One of the most visible changes in iOS 26 beta 4 is another round of adjustments to Apple’s Liquid Glass UI. After pushing the design toward greater opacity in beta 3, Apple appears to be reversing course. Interface elements like the menu bars in Photos, Music, and the App Store now return to a more translucent style, allowing more of the app’s background color to shine through. The Lock Screen also sees a usability tweak: when scrolling through notifications, the background darkens to improve legibility—a small but welcome quality-of-life upgrade.
The Notification Summaries feature, previously pulled due to inaccuracies in AI-generated headlines, is back for News and Entertainment apps. Reintroduced with enhancements, the summaries are now marked with “Summarized by Apple Intelligence” to help distinguish AI-generated content. Users can choose whether to enable summaries per app category after updating. While still in testing, the feature aims to provide quick, reliable recaps without replacing full article reads.
In the Camera app, Apple has slightly reworked how the mode selector behaves when swiping—offering a smoother, more responsive interaction. The Camera icon on the Home Screen has also received a subtle redesign. Meanwhile, Mail gets a similarly quiet refresh with slight adjustments to its icon, maintaining the visual polish that’s typical of final-stage betas.
CarPlay users will see new wallpapers that align with iOS 26’s fresh aesthetic. These new designs, available in multiple color schemes, support both light and dark modes. In a bit of housecleaning, older CarPlay wallpapers have been retired.
Under Settings, the Face ID & Passcode menu now has revised language to clarify that the passcode in question is the one used to unlock your device—not just a security setting. In the Passwords app, Apple has added a new “Allow Contacting Websites” toggle. This feature enables the system to fetch site names and icons automatically and inform users about passkey support.
The Weather app is gaining more contextual awareness with a new setting that taps into Significant Locations. With it enabled, the app can deliver weather forecasts for frequently visited places, not just your current or saved locations.
Another small but important change is in audio settings. “Late Night Mode” has been renamed to “Reduce Loud Sounds.” The new label is more descriptive, and Apple clarifies that the setting lowers peak volume while preserving subtle audio details.
Apple also expanded the call screening features in this beta. The “Screen Unknown Callers” menu now offers three distinct options: turn the feature off, prompt callers to state a reason, or silence them entirely and redirect to voicemail. It’s a useful upgrade for anyone tired of spam or robocalls.
Lastly, the iOS 26 wallpapers are now dynamic. As the day progresses, their color tone subtly shifts—another nod to Apple’s ongoing experiment with ambient, time-sensitive UI design.
iOS 26 beta 4 doesn’t introduce a headline-grabbing new feature, but its collection of interface fine-tuning, reintroductions, and contextual enhancements suggests Apple is approaching the final stages of development. Expect future betas to continue refining the experience before the full iOS 26 release this fall.
