Apple is rolling out iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 starting today, bringing the second wave of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone and iPad alongside other improvements.
The new Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 18.2 include AI image generation via a dedicated Image Playground app for creating images from descriptions or contact images. You can create images in various styles, ranging from cartoonish to illustration. Image Playground is integrated across apps like Messages and others and includes suggestions, quick previews, a history, and more.
The Image Wand feature in the Notes app lets you circle a rough sketch to turn it into an AI-generated drawing. You can even circle an empty space to have Image Wand create an appropriate image from scratch based on the surrounding context.
Genmoji is another new Apple Intelligence feature in iOS and iPadOS 18.2. With it, you can create images of custom emoji characters based on descriptions. Available from the emoji keyboard, Genmoji even lets you choose a person’s image from the Photos library to quickly create a Genmoji that looks like them. These AI-generated emoji characters are sent as regular images to ensure they’re viewable across different platforms.
With Visual Intelligence, your iPhone’s camera becomes a tool to explore the world. This feature is restricted to the latest iPhone 16 lineup and works like a glorified Google Lens. Press and hold the Camera Control button to launch Visual Intelligence, then point the camera at anything, hit the shutter button, and select Search to find related results via Google or Ask to have them uploaded to ChatGPT to analyze what’s in view. You can also get a summary of any text in the viewfinder or quickly add email addresses and phone numbers to contacts.
ChatGPT from OpenAI is now integrated into the Siri assistant and the Writing Tools. You must confirm whenever Siri wants to offload your request to ChatGPT. You don’t need an OpenAI account to use ChatGPT integration, but you can sign in with one if you have it to access paid features, in which case OpenAI’s standard privacy policies apply.
The Writing Tools have a new Compose feature for creating writing from scratch. In this release, Apple Intelligence has expanded to additional English-speaking languages, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. In 2025, it will expand to Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish, and other languages.
Apple Intelligence requires recent devices and doesn’t work on the iPhone 14 models or older. If your hardware doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements for Apple Intelligence, iOS and iPadOS 18 provide plenty of other improvements to be excited about.
In the Find My app, for example, you can temporarily share the location of your AirTag or a third-party item tracker with links; soon, you’ll be able to share an item location with your airline to assist them with finding your lost baggage.
The Mail app on iPhone improves inbox triage by breaking down emails into the Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions categories. iPhone 16 owners get new Camera Control features. A new toggle requires the screen to be turned on before the capture button registers a click. This helps prevent accidental camera launches on the lock screen.
Another new feature brings a two-stage shutter function like on DSLR cameras, where a light press of the capture button locks your focus and exposure and a harder press snaps an image. There’s also a new feature in the Camera Control accessibility setting to adjust the double-click speed of Camera Control (useful if you set the Camera Control button to launch your designated camera app with a double-click instead of a single click).
The Voice Memos app can now layer multiple audio recordings on top of one another. You can also separate and edit these layer mixes. iPhone owners in the European Union can delete core iPhone apps like Camera, Messages, and Safari. Everyone can now manage default apps for messaging, calling, contactless transactions, and more in Settings > Apps > Default Apps.
The volume slider in Now Playing on the lock screen is back after iOS 18.0 removed it, but must be enabled via Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Always Show Volume Control. To help protect your hearing, iOS 18.2 lets you limit the built-in speaker’s volume in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Volume Limit. Your Music Recognition history gains a Musical Memories feature to geotag recognized tracks so you can see where you’ve heard a song.
iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 also bring various quality-of-life improvements. You can now authorize the “Trust This Computer” prompt using Face ID instead of typing your passcode. The iPhone Mirroring feature works when a Mac uses your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot.
You can also now track the progress of web downloads initiated in Safari on the lock screen and Dynamic Island. The Control Center now has a Type to Siri widget which you can also assign to a lockscreen button instead of the default Flashlight or Camera shortcut. The video player in the Photos app now plays videos in fullscreen. Apple News+ subscribers can now play daily sudoku puzzles in the News app. The Setting app now shows dark icons when Dark Mode is active, as does AirDrop.
The Shortcuts app brings new actions for the built-in Fitness app, like Open Fitness Settings, Open Award, Open Session History, and Open Trophy Case. There’s a new Not Secure Connection toggle in Settings > Apps > Safari, plus a new History and Website Data section with options to import and export data and clear your Safari history and website data. Oh, and don’t forget to check out new background wallpapers in Safari!
iMessage explicit image reporting is debuting on iOS 18.2, starting with Australia. Apple has said it will review reported content and could take appropriate action. This feature is in addition to Apple’s existing Communication Safety feature for iMessage that launched in the United States with iOS 15.2 in 2021. iOS 18.2 also opts iPhone owners in Utah under the age of 17 into adult content blocking to comply with Utah law.
The TV app allows you to customize the navigation bar, and the Music app shows the disc number for some albums. The Podcasts app now shows categories in the library view, and you can favorite them. There’s a new option to display the Vehicle Motion Cues feature in the Dynamic Island area when in use. Lastly, the Arcade tab in the App Store app features an updated filter menu with a new option to turn off game previews.
To download and install an iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2 update over the air, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the instructions. You can read release notes for iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 on Apple’s website, and learn more about the underlying security patches and bug fixes on this support page.
Source: Apple
