Apple is rolling out iOS 18.2 this week — and it’s expected to be the best Apple Intelligence upgrade.
Apple Intelligence was the big news to come out of the tech giant’s annual World Wide Developer Conference back in June, with the first waves of iOS 18’s new generative AI capabilities rolling out in October.
Now, iOS 18.2 will introduce an even wider set of Apple Intelligence features to devices, including Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT integration.
Apple released the beta version of iOS 18.2 to developer and public beta testers last week, and it’s expected to roll out to the general public on Tuesday, Dec. 10, or Wednesday, Dec. 11, according to MacRumors.
The highly anticipated AI updates will be available for devices compatible with iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2. Those include iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPads with an M1 chip or later, or the A17 Pro, and Macs with an M1 chip or later.
Below are the new Apple Intelligence features coming with the upgrade.
Genmoji
Users will be able to use Apple’s AI to create custom emojis whenever they want, which will be for messaging and other apps.
It will allow people to create their perfect emoji to go with the context of their conversation. Just tell Apple Intelligence what emoji you’re hoping to create, and it will be generated for you. You can even create Genmojis that look like you or your loved ones.
Image Playground
Image Playground is another generative art feature, this one allowing users to quickly create images to be used in emails, presentations, documents and more.
Images can also be more “fun,” such as generating a cartoon version of yourself.
The app allows you to either describe what you hope to create in your own words or choose from suggestions within the app. You can also choose the finishing style of the image, such as animation or illustration.
Image Wand
Another generative art feature is the Image Wand tool in the Notes app, which can be used to polish rough sketches into refined artwork.
If you use Notes to doodle sketches with your finger, you can employ the wand to circle the image and allow AI to make it a more upscale photo.
ChatGPT integration
While ChatGPT isn’t behind Siri or Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.2 now adds ChatGPT to Siri so you can have it answer your question if you don’t like its original answer.
Siri’s platform will display ChatGPT’s response if you wish without having to open a separate application.
Additionally, ChatGPT will now be integrated into the AI Writing Tools feature that launched with the original iOS 18 update, so users can now use the platform to help refine text they wrote.
Visual Intelligence
Those with the iPhone 16 or later can now use the side camera button to help identify objects or anything else the camera sees. Using visual intelligence will allow the user to, for instance, pinpoint the plant they’re looking at, get information about a restaurant they walk by, or find out where to get that dress your friend is wearing.
Priority Notifications
Busy people will now be able to get their notifications in priority order rather than chronological.
For example, if you have a flight to catch or a meeting to attend, those alerts will be shown at the top to ensure you don’t miss them.
