Apple released iOS 26.2 last week and it included some useful new features that we wrote about on Saturday. The next update that iPhone users are excited about is iOS 26.4 which is supposed to include major AI-based improvements to Siri that have been delayed. A major leak has revealed more of what to expect from iOS 26.4 through iOS 28. The build of iOS 26 that revealed all of this information is used inside Apple by engineers.
An internal version of iOS 26 used by Apple engineers leaks future features for the operating system
This internal iOS build contains "feature flags" that allow engineers to enable or disable a certain feature to turn it on or off while it is being worked on. This special build of iOS also contains notes about certain features and the version of iOS they will arrive with. Macworld was able to see the internal build of iOS 26 that includes notes about what to expect in future releases of the operating system.
Are you looking forward to the improved AI Siri expected in iOS 26.4?
Yes, very much so.
55.56%
No. Siri is an underachiever and will remain so.
0%
Apple will delay the changes for Siri to a later date.
44.44%
For example, the build examined by Macworld shows multiple feature flags related to new features coming to the Health app. The flags mention a new UI for categories and an easier way to manually enter data such as body measurements, symptoms, and medication intake. There is speculation that Apple will offer a subscription service called Health+ that will answer questions based on the data provided by the user that is posted in the Health app. The changes to the UI could be one way that Apple is getting the app ready for the new paid version to be possibly released next year.
This is when you can expect the changes to Siri that you've been looking forward to
The report also says that Apple is testing a way to detect when a new credit or debit card is added to a third-party app and offers to save it to iCloud Keychain. The feature would work in the same manner that Autofill works in Safari. This would be released in iOS 26.4 according to the leaked data. We could see Apple offering a more expensive Sports subscription package to Apple TV+ users, according to the leak. This might also be available with the iOS 26.4 update coming this spring.
Apple recently released iOS 26.2. | Image credit-PhoneArena
The improvements to Siri that you've been waiting for are also expected to come this spring with the release of iOS 26.4. Besides having more natural conversations with Siri, the digital assistant will be integrated with Google's Gemini Large Language Model (LLM). As a result, Siri will be able to understand the context of what is on the user's display and will help perform tasks for the user.
A new security feature is expected to land in iOS 26.4
The revised Siri will also be able to browse a user's email, messages, calendars, and photos to find certain information such as the arrival time of a flight or the name of a restaurant the user made reservations at and the time and date of that reservation. Siri will also be able to perform tasks with certain apps using voice commands. You'll be able to ask Siri to add an item to a shopping list, send a message through the messaging app, and stream certain tunes.
Some new features were leaked for iOS 27 and iOS 28
A new layer of security will also come in iOS 26.4 that will make sure that an iPhone unit logging into Apple ID and iCloud hasn't gone through any unauthorized modifications, like jailbreaking.
Who knows which of these features will land on time? The one I care about most is Siri. Using Gemini as the digital assistant on my Pixel 6 Pro showed me how poorly Siri currently handles the job on the iPhone. I have high expectations for the changes I hope to see for Siri in iOS 26.4.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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