A week after the release of the first beta version, iOS 26.4 beta 2 is now available. The update continues to improve new features and changes for iPhone users. RCS encryption updates, Games apps and more are available.
iOS 26.4 beta 2 details
iSO 26.4 beta 2 is currently available for developer beta testing. The public beta will likely be released later this week. The build number for the update is 23E5218e.
As we covered extensively last week, iOS 26.4 includes more than 40 changes for your iPhone. There are new features for Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and more.
iOS 26.4 beta 2: What’s new?
RCS encryption
Last week’s iOS 26.4 release added support for testing RCS encryption, but only for iPhone-to-iPhone communications. With iOS 26.4 beta 2, Apple expanded testing to include messaging between iPhone and Android devices.
Apple says:
In this beta version, RCS end-to-end encryption will be available for testing between Apple and Android devices. This feature does not ship in this release and will be available to customers in future releases of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS 26. End-to-end encryption is in beta and not available for all devices or carriers. Conversations marked as encrypted are end-to-end encrypted, so messages cannot be read when they are sent between devices.
Read more: iOS 26.4 beta 2 adds support for testing encrypted RCS between iPhone and Android
Reduce highlight effects
Added by Apple in the Accessibility menu in Settings. new toggle under Text display and size: “Reduce highlight effects”. This should reduce some of the effects around the edges of buttons and sliders.
Application Games
In iOS 26.4 beta 1, they updated the user interface in the App Store to move the search bar back to the top of the Search tab. The Search tab is also now integrated into the bottom tab instead of floating off to the side by itself.
In iOS 26.4 beta 2, Apple made the same change to the Games app.
Read more: iOS 26.4 includes two app updates that bring iOS 18 designs
Other minor UI tweaks
- When your iPhone is in dark mode, the pop-up menu in Control Center will now also appear with a dark background.
- There have been some minor changes to the Account Hub interface in the App Store, as noted by Aaron Perris.
Wrap
We’ll continue to update this story as we uncover more new features in iOS 26.4 beta 2. If you discover anything new, let us know down in the comments.
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