After keeping things low key with iOS 26.3Apple rolled out A major update for iOS 26.4-Especially for Apple Music users. That app’s UI now matches the art of the album you’re checking out; you can Use AI to generate new playlistsAnd find upcoming concerts of the artists you’re listening to right in the app. Combined with other new changes, viz Eight new emojis And with a new “Urgent” section in Reminders, iOS 26.4 was actually quite a feature-packed update. iOS 26.5On the other hand, arguably the other is quieter.
Don’t expect any major new features or changes here (despite some rumors to the contrary, Apple actually seems to iOS is saving its AI Siri for the launch of 27), but there are some interesting updates to call out. In my opinion, two features define this update: one good, one disappointing.
Apple Maps gets ads in iOS 26.5
It’s official: Apple Maps is getting ads. It’s part of Apple’s push Insert ads into more of its apps and services To increase his income. (What is a A $4 trillion company What to do?) These ads will appear at the top of the “Suggested Places” screen when you’re in Apple Maps, depending on compatibility, as well as new for iOS 26.5.
You can easily distinguish between ads and suggested locations: Apple says it’s placing a blue “ad” icon on any paid location that appears in search or suggested locations. It’s possible that these ads can even be useful, if they’re really relevant: if you’re looking for a specific type of food in a specific city, maybe a top ad is really the way to go. On the other hand, the fact that he was paid to be there could be a red flag.
The addition of ads isn’t a shock: We heard rumblings of this news last yearAnd Apple confirmed it last week. Because this is Apple, the company is assuring users that its ad placement takes privacy into account, as the app “doesn’t know which stores, neighborhoods or Clinics You visit.” When you interact with an ad, that data is tied to a “random identifier” that changes several times an hour, so in theory, no one can tie your ad interactions to you personally.
RCS end-to-end encryption is finally here
After months of testing, Apple officially rolled out end-to-end encryption for RCS– One of the last major limitations of the protocol on iOS. iPhone users should now be able to text their Android friends directly without leaving their messages open in plain text. That assumes, of course, that their Android friends are also using a messaging app that supports encrypted RCS. At the moment, that mostly means the most recent versions of Google Messages.
When Apple finally rolled out RCS support for the iPhone, it was a true game-changer. Green bubble texts are no longer to be feared; Now, group chats can work properly, photos and videos can be sent in high resolution, and you can use read receipts outside of iMessage. But end-to-end encryption was missing, making the experience just as insecure as SMS. Going forward, we can all message with a little more peace.
What do you think so far?
You can quickly connect Magic accessories to your iPhone
If you have Apple’s “magic” accessories, such as the Magic Keyboard, you can quickly pair them with your iPhone in iOS 26.5. You can plug your iPhone into an accessory via USB-C, just like you do on macOS, instead of fiddling with Bluetooth settings. Once you do that, the accessory can quickly pair with your iPhone via Bluetooth, making it easy to switch devices.
iOS 26.5 features a new “Pride Luminance” wallpaper
Credit: Apple
As part of the company’s latest Pride collectionNow there is “Pride Luminance” wallpaper that refracts light and color. Apple says the design is twofold: the radial design has rays of color that align with the hour, while the vertical design divides the colors into sections.
You can now pay month-to-month for annual subscriptions (not available in the US).
The final new feature of iOS 26.5 Makes stomaching an annual subscription a little easier– Assuming you don’t live in Singapore or the US, with this new update, you can now pay month-to-month for annual subscriptions. Instead of dropping $120 all at once on an annual plan, you can pay $10 per month. You’re still locked in for the year, so you’ll need to pay for 12 months, but at least it feels like a monthly subscription to your wallet. However, despite being home to Apple HQ, the US is yet to take advantage of this change. Hopefully, it will come with iOS 26.6 or maybe iOS 27.
