After iOS 26's buggy release, users say iOS 26.4 finally brings some much needed improvements

iOS 26.4 was officially released to the public around two days ago. Instead of the usual “This update is terrible!” comments, the reception is a lot more positive this time. It’s not just newer iPhones; I’ve tried it on some of the oldest supported models with arguably the worst iOS experience, like the iPhone 13 and 12 Mini. There’s a drastic improvement in the overall performance of the software, even on these models.

When iOS 26 rolled out last September, a lot of people were disappointed with the stability, since it came with a lot of bugs, visual glitches, battery drain, lag, and increased overall heating. 

It’s not just me claiming improvements with iOS 26.4; there are several reports online that claim better smoothness, faster animations, and much better overall performance.

Earlier, there were some thermal problems while charging the phone, which this update has seemingly addressed. The posts mention improvements throughout all the supported models. Despite a majority of people reporting improvements, some edge cases do remain, where there’s allegedly some stutter that still has to be ironed out.

Smoothness aside, this update brings some new features to the table as well. Playlist Playground lets you create a custom playlist with a text-based prompt. There are also some new Emojis, video capabilities for podcasts, the Ambient Music Widget, and more. Apart from that, this update also fixed long-standing, extremely annoying bugs.

For instance, this update finally addresses the Apple Keyboard bugs. Apple mentions “Increased accuracy while typing”in the changelog, so hopefully this is the end of typos that aren’t our fault. The image below shows the full list of changes.

Overall, I noticed fewer frame drops, better overall responsiveness, slightly faster animations, and a much better experience. Others in our team also report noticing similar improvements. This is good news, since the allegedly stability-focused iOS 27 will have fewer niggles to iron out.

It’s not sunshine and rainbows everywhere, though. People living in the UK are annoyed at the new age verification that Apple has baked into iOS 26.4 to comply with UK laws. You can read about that here. Additionally, if you’re someone who sideloads apps, you might want to wait, since JIT is seemingly broken on this version.

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