Apple has just released what should be the final beta for iOS 18.2, which means the official launch to all eligible iPhone owners is right around the corner. If you own an iPhone compatible with Apple Intelligence and the new features it brings to iOS, you'll be excited for the latest software version. Those with older phones probably won't be as overjoyed, but getting some new software is still lovely.
Based on typical Apple release timelines, we could see the public iOS 18.2 release next week, so the wait is almost over.
Image Playground
As far as what's new in iOS 18.2, much of the update focuses on bringing Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone. Image Playground is the first feature mentioned in Apple's release notes. The company describes it as "A new app that lets you use concepts, descriptions, and people from your photo library to create fun, playful images in multiple styles."
Genmoji
Another new feature is Genmoji, which lets you make custom emoji right from the keyboard. It sounds like a cool feature, though not quite as game-changing as Image Playground.
ChatGPT comes to Siri
Perhaps most exciting is the addition of ChatGPT support, which was hyped during the initial Apple Intelligence announcement. Apple notes that "ChatGPT from OpenAI can be accessed right from Siri or Writing Tools." Apple also says "Siri can tap into ChatGPT when relevant to provide you an answer."
The release notes also mention signing in with your ChatGPT account to get your benefits but that an "account is not required and your requests will be anonymous."
Visual Intelligence
Other features include Visual Intelligence with Camera Control, Mail categorization, video viewing improvements, improvements when navigating Collections views and layered recording in voice memos.
Visual Intelligence is very much like Google Lens meets Circle to Search. You can point your iPhone's camera at a restaurant, for example, and get the rating and other info. Or you could add a concert date right to your calendar after scanning a poster for it.
This specific update is mostly about fixing bugs with those new features, which is always good. With this being the release candidate, it should be the final version, so outside of any massive bugs, developers should have their hands on what we'll get next week.
