Apple is continuing to test the iOS 26.4 beta, and the latest update is now available for developers and public beta testers. As testing goes on, there are fewer new features in each beta, but today’s release adds new emoji characters and a few other changes.

New Emoji

Apple added new emoji characters, including trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature, fight cloud, orca, and landslide.


There are also new skin tone modifiers people wrestling and dancers with bunny ears, as well as a gender neutral option for the ballet dancer emoji.

Reduce Bright Effects

Apple renamed the prior Reduce Highlighting Effects Accessibility setting to “Reduce Bright Effects,” and explained what it does.


Apple says the feature "minimizes highlighting and flashing when interacting with onscreen elements, such as buttons or the keyboard.

RCS Encrypted Messaging

Apple has removed the RCS end-to-end encryption beta in the fourth beta of iOS 26.4 after testing it in the prior three betas. Apple already said that end-to-end encryption for ‌RCS‌ would not launch in the iOS 26.4 update, and would instead be introduced in the future.

Apple tested end-to-end encryption for iPhone-to-iPhone ‌RCS‌ conversations, and iPhone-to-Android conversations. iMessage communications are already encrypted, but in a future iOS update, full implementation of ‌RCS‌ encryption will mean that iPhone-to-Android text message conversations have the same level of encryption.

New Device Support

iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 beta 4 are the first betas that are able to be installed on the new iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air.

More New Features

We have a list of all features found in prior betas in our iOS 26.4 feature guide.
This article, "Everything New in iOS 26.4 Beta 4" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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ChatGPT is now able to identify songs that are playing using Apple-owned music service Shazam. With a new Shazam integration, ChatGPT users can type in a question like "Shazam, what is this song?" to bring up a "Tap to Shazam" interface to get the title of a song.


Shazam's full music recognition technology is available in ChatGPT, so users won't need to exit out of the app to identify a song and listen to an inline preview. Using Shazam in ChatGPT works the same way as Shazam on an Apple device.

Shazam can be added to ChatGPT by opening up the ChatGPT settings, navigating to apps, and searching for Shazam. After installation, Shazam can be invoked by starting a request with "Shazam."

Using Shazam in ChatGPT does not require the Shazam app to be installed, and the song recognition functionality can be used on any platform. With the Shazam app installed, songs identified using ChatGPT are added to the Shazam app library for later access.

Shazam is rolling out in ChatGPT as of today.
This article, "Apple's Shazam Music Recognition Now Available in ChatGPT" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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If you want a MacBook Neo for delivery on Wednesday, March 11 launch day, but have yet to place an order, you might be out of luck.


MacBook Neo pre-orders began March 4, and the initial delivery date was March 11. But now, Apple's online store in the U.S. shows that MacBook Neo orders placed today are estimated to be delivered between March 17 and March 31.

Here are the estimated delivery dates for each configuration as of 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time:

• 256GB/Blush: March 24 — March 31


• 256GB/Citrus: March 17 — March 24


• 256GB/Indigo: March 17 — March 24


• 256GB/Silver: March 24 — March 31


• 512GB/Blush: March 24 — March 31


• 512GB/Citrus: March 24 — March 31


• 512GB/Indigo: March 24 — March 31


• 512GB/Silver: March 17 — March 24

Fortunately, Apple Store pickup is still an option for some configurations on launch day.

Without knowing how much supply there is for each configuration, it is hard to draw any conclusions from the delivery dates listed above, but it is clear that it is getting harder and harder to find a MacBook Neo for launch day. Given the laptop starts at just $599, or an even lower $499 for college students, that should not come as too much of a surprise.
This article, "MacBook Neo Availability Continues to Tighten Ahead of Launch" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first reviews of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max chips were published today by selected publications and YouTube channels, ahead of the laptops launching on Wednesday.


In addition to the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the new MacBook Pro models offer up to twice as fast SSD speeds compared to the previous generation, and storage now starts at 1TB. Battery life has increased slightly on all of the new models, and the N1 chip extends to the MacBook Pro now for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.

Geekbench 6 benchmark results already surfaced for the M5 Pro and M5 Max last week. In line with Apple's advertised figures, the chips offer up to approximately 15% faster CPU performance and up to approximately 20% faster GPU performance compared to the previous-generation M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

Mac Model	Multi-Core CPU Score
MacBook Pro (M5 Pro and M5 Max)	28,500 to 29,500
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)	27,726
MacBook Pro (M4 Max)	25,702
MacBook Pro (M4 Pro)	22,490
Mac Studio (M2 Ultra)	21,410
MacBook Pro (M3 Max)	20,960
Mac Studio (M1 Ultra)	18,434
MacBook Air (M5)	17,073
MacBook Pro (M3 Pro)	15,260
MacBook Pro (M2 Max)	14,740
MacBook Air (M4)	14,731
MacBook Pro (M2 Pro)	14,451
MacBook Pro (M1 Max)	12,345
MacBook Pro (M1 Pro)	12,345
MacBook Air (M3)	12,020
MacBook Air (M2)	9,709
MacBook Neo (A18 Pro)	8,668
MacBook Air (M1)	8,342

The Verge said the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max and a 4TB SSD sustained a 13.6 GB/s read speed and a 17.8 GB/s write speed, which is an 86% and 123% increase for read and write speeds respectively compared to the equivalent previous model. This is roughly in line with Apple advertising up to twice as fast SSD speeds.

Tom's Guide's Tony Polanco said the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro lasted an "astonishing" 21 hours and 10 minutes in a battery life test that involved "continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with the laptop's display set to 150 nits of brightness." The previous M4 Pro model lasted 20 hours and 46 minutes in the same test.

Additional reviews were published by CNET, Gizmodo, Macworld, and Six Colors, among others.

Keep in mind that the MacBook Pro is rumored to receive a major redesign in either late 2026 or 2027. Key new features expected include an OLED display, a touch screen, a Dynamic Island, M6 Pro and M6 Max chips manufactured with TSMC's advanced 2nm process, a thinner design, and potentially even built-in cellular connectivity. However, it has been rumored that this might be a new highest-end model called the "MacBook Ultra."

Video Reviews

This article, "MacBook Pro Reviews: One 'Astonishing' Upgrade Beyond M5 Pro and M5 Max" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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