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While the focus is currently on iOS 18 and iOS 18.1, Apple is already working on iOS 18.2 as well, and the update is expected to include several new features.

Generic-iOS-18-Feature-Real-Mock.jpg

Below, we recap everything that we know about iOS 18.2.

iOS 18.2

Apple has been internally testing iOS 18.2 for at least a few months now, based on evidence of the software version in our website's analytics logs.

iOS 18.2 will likely be released in December, as that is when Apple said that it will be making Apple Intelligence available in localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K., and support for those languages will likely be added in that update. Apple released iOS 15.2, iOS 16.2, and iOS 17.2 in December over the years.

Expected Features


Apple Intelligence in More Countries

Apple-Intelligence-December.jpg

As mentioned, iOS 18.2 should expand Apple Intelligence to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. for the first time.

In the U.S., Apple Intelligence will be available starting with iOS 18.1 on the iPhone 15 Pro models and all four iPhone 16 models.

iOS 18.1 is already available in beta for developers, and it includes Apple Intelligence features such as writing tools for proofreading text, notification summaries, suggested replies in the Messages app, the ability to record and transcribe phone calls, and a new "Clean Up" tool in the Photos app that can quickly remove objects from a photo.

Image Playground and Genmoji


ios-18-genmoji.jpg

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said two more Apple Intelligence features that were previewed earlier this year will be added in iOS 18.2, including Image Playground for generating images and Genmoji for generating custom emoji.

Here is how Apple describes Image Playground:
Produce fun, original images in seconds with the Image Playground experience right in your apps. Create an entirely new image based on a description, suggested concepts, and even a person from your Photos library. You can easily adjust the style and make changes to match a Messages thread, your Freeform board, or a slide in Keynote.

Here is how Apple describes Genmoji:
Make a brand-new Genmoji right in the keyboard to match any conversation. Provide a description to see a preview, and adjust your description until it's perfect. You can even pick someone from your Photos library and create a Genmoji that looks like them.
ChatGPT Integration With Siri

iOS-18-ChatGPT.jpg

Apple said that ChatGPT will be available through Siri before the end of the year, so this integration will likely go live with iOS 18.2.

With user permission, Siri will be able to show ChatGPT answers directly in response to questions and other prompts. ChatGPT will also be an option for Apple's system-wide Writing Tools feature, allowing users to generate text and images. Apple said ChatGPT will be powered by OpenAI's latest GPT-4o model on its platforms.

iPhone, iPad, and Mac users will be able to use ChatGPT for free, without creating an account, and ChatGPT Plus subscribers will be able to connect their accounts to access paid features on these devices. Apple said OpenAI will not store ChatGPT requests made from its devices, and it said users' IP addresses will be obscured.

Hearing Health Features on AirPods Pro 2

airpods-pro-2-hearing-aids.jpg

During its iPhone 16 event this week, Apple announced new hearing protection, hearing test, and hearing aid features that will be available on the AirPods Pro 2 starting "this fall" in more than 100 countries and regions, including the U.S., Germany, and Japan. Based on this timeframe, and since these features are not yet included in the iOS 18.1 developer beta, it is possible they will be released as part of iOS 18.2.

More

iOS 18.2 will likely include these additional new features:
  • Transactions, Updates, and Promotions categories in the Mail app
  • Robot vacuum cleaner support in the Home app

Article Link: iOS 18.2 Expected in December With These New Features
 
What does that leave for 18.3 and beyond as far as announced features go? Context Aware Siri? What else?
Maybe they will rollout AI features to next two, maybe three countries. And of course, most of us, as usually, be at the ****ing end of their priorities list.
 
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I hope the EU will get its act together soon.
I'll be getting a 16 in October, but I'd like seeing some apple intelligence before Spring 2025.
If you don’t desperately need a new phone, why buy one ASAP for Apple Intelligence when it’s not even coming to the EU? Just wait until next year! Might as well wait and get the 17.
 
If you don’t desperately need a new phone, why buy one ASAP for Apple Intelligence when it’s not even coming to the EU? Just wait until next year! Might as well wait and get the 17.
That's my thinking, even in the U.S. Apple Intelligence is the the compelling feature that might prompt me to upgrade from my adequate 14 Pro. But if it'll be months before Apple Intelligence is implemented, I may wait just the few months more for the 17Pro. If I manage that much self-control 🤞
 
Apple Intelligence in the EU in iOS 25 only in US English.

Sick of this clown show.

This will be the first time in 10 years I don’t update my iPhone. Why would I change ? A camera button ? Almost fell asleep during the presentation. What a joke.
 
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I'm happier with the 18.0 RC than I've been with any release in a long time. They fixed a lot of bugs, made a lot of improvements, and I don't notice any issues with anything that was already there, just a bit more work to do on the new features.

They can take their time. I've been using ChatGPT on my iPhone for like a year now. Siri is already a bit better, and a lot faster.

I am very much looking forward to even more AirPods Pro improvements though.
 
I find that waiting fatigue is a real thing. Now I find that I don't even want this anymore. That has also happened in the past. Apple takes so long and so much longer than everyone else I stopped caring way before the time they rolled out whatever took them so long to roll out.

To be fair, that's probably because you keep up with the tech news. We already knew or suspected most of this. Even worse, because of that we probably expected even more.

To people that don't care and just take another look every few years for a new phone, the improvements are more noticeable.

But that's why I had to jump on the RC. I couldn't wait any longer to finally move my icons down where I can reach them. My Home Screen now looks remarkably similar to the home screen on my Android phone from 2018.
 
What does that leave for 18.3 and beyond as far as announced features go? Context Aware Siri? What else?

That's actually a great sign. All announced features actually implemented same calendar year. Better than they've managed the last few years.

As we've all been clamoring for a long time now, what's left is refinement. Plenty of tweaks to be made to the new interface, plenty of improvement to both regular Siri and Apple Intelligence.

We needed a slower year with more work put in to fewer features.
 
I'm late to the game. So none of the Apple Intelligence features will be available on EU phones? Wow.
Apple isn’t stupid. They want to bring it to the EU, since it sells devices, and Android manufacturers have no trouble offering AI in the EU, even though Android is under “gatekeeper” rules just like iOS. But Apple is already behind schedule with their AI anyway, so they concentrate on English first (even other non-US English countries will only get it in December). And since Apple is annoyed with the EU legislation, they are mumbling something about regulatory uncertainties, as a welcome excuse for the delay, and maybe in the hope of influencing public opinion in the EU.
 
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