MAM
Ad Asia overawes with cultural extravaganza
JAIPUR: “Shock and awe.”
To an ad man, that could well have represented the Ad Asia 2003 organising committee’s thematic motif on Monday night, at the gala dinner held at the stunningly grandiose City Palace, abode of the Maharaja of Jaipur.
And the underlying message to Singapore city, the hosts of AdAsia 2005 – “Try and beat this.”
It was a hark back to the bygone feudal era of the Maharajas that was recreated for the assembled guests last night at the City Palace, right from the red carpet welcome gate which had two liveried elephants on either side with rose petals being showered on the guests as they walked in. The ramparts of the palace were lit up not by your usual light bulbs but by the traditional wooden fires burning (or at least this writer thinks it was wood being burnt as these fires were burning all round the palace walls).
Crowned beauties at Tuesday’s do
An old British couple who had come for the ceremonies were simply awestruck by the opulence of the whole thing and the Japanese delegates (at least they looked Japanese) were true to type, clicking away and with camcorders in action.
As for the turnout, anyone who was anyone from the field of advertising and media was in attendance. And barring Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, who was in Hong Kong at the briefing, announcing Michelle Guthrie as the new CEO of Star Asia (see Star appoints Michelle Guthrie as CEO), there was a good sprinkling of TV head honchos to be seen.
Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta and his whole A-list team, MTV India bossman Alex Kuruvilla and NDTV Media CEO Raj Nayak were among those that this writer chanced to meet.
As for the night’s entertainment at was jazz maestro Siva Mani and evergreen crooner Usha Uthup who were on stage. With the light moments provided by MTV VJs Cyrus Broacha and Sophia and Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra giving some spiel.
Talking of Chopra, she was taken around the inner palace courtyard in a liveried carriage decked in her Miss World regalia (crown and gown and what not).
That was a downside to the night’s proceedings. The upside was the chance this writer had to be driven in a 1944 Packard, which the chauffeur said was world’s first air conditioned automobile. Now that’s called regal carriage.
Apple rarely announces minor updates with much fanfare, and iOS 26.4 is no exception. No dramatic redesigns, no flashy keynote moments. What it delivers instead is a focused set of improvements that sharpen the experience you already have. If that sounds underwhelming, spend a week with it. You will change your mind.
Apple Music Learns to Listen Better
The biggest shift in this update lives inside Apple Music. Apple has brought AI-powered playlist generation to the app, and it works on mood rather than genre. Type something like “rainy evening at home” or “running late on a Monday,” and it builds a playlist that actually fits. This is not algorithmic guesswork dressed up in new clothing. It genuinely reads the intent behind vague descriptions and responds well.
Alongside this, a new concerts feature scans your listening history and surfaces live events happening near you. It is a smart bridge between your digital music habits and real-world experiences. Apple is quietly making the case that a music app should do more than just play songs.
Shazam also gets a meaningful upgrade. It can now identify songs without an internet connection. This might sound like a minor convenience, but anyone who has tried to Shazam something at a crowded venue with patchy signal will tell you it is anything but minor. The feature works locally on-device, which also means it is faster.
CarPlay Gets Smarter Controls
CarPlay has been updated with deeper integration for intelligent voice assistants. The goal is to reduce how often drivers need to look at a screen or tap anything at all. You speak, things happen. It is a clear step toward making the driving experience safer without stripping away functionality. The integration feels natural rather than bolted on, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds.
The Fixes You Feel Every Day
This is where iOS 26.4 earns its keep. Keyboard responsiveness has been improved, and the difference is noticeable immediately. Typing feels more accurate and less combative. Accessibility features have been refined across the board, with better contrast options and adjusted spacing that makes the interface easier to read without forcing you into larger text sizes.
The Health app has also been updated. It now surfaces more actionable insights from your daily data rather than just displaying numbers. If your sleep patterns have shifted or your activity levels have changed, the app now contextualises that clearly instead of leaving you to interpret raw figures on your own.
These are the kinds of changes that do not photograph well for a press release. They also happen to be the ones that make your phone feel genuinely better to use.
A Few Other Additions
New emojis have been added in this update. They will find their way into your conversations faster than you expect. Family Sharing has also been updated, with more granular control over shared payments and subscriptions. If you share an Apple account with family members, this puts clearer limits on who can spend what, which has been a long-requested fix.
What This Update Actually Represents
iOS 26.4 is Apple doing what it does best when it is not trying to make headlines. Every addition here serves a clear purpose. The AI music features are genuinely useful. The CarPlay improvements address a real safety concern. The small UI fixes accumulate into a noticeably smoother daily experience.
There is no bloat. Nothing feels experimental or half-finished. That discipline is harder to maintain than it looks, especially as operating systems grow more complex with each passing year.
If you have been holding off on updating, this is the one worth installing.
