The developer betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2 have landedThey have new Apple Intelligence tricks like Genmoji and Image PlaygroundApple also rolled out a major upgrade to Writing Tools across platforms
Shortly after confirming that Apple Intelligence will debut for all folks with eligible devices next week with iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, Apple is now giving developers a look at its next set of features. Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, and ChatGPT integration for Siri are appearing for the first time in the iOS 18.2 developer beta, being released today (October 23, 2024).
iOS 18.2 developer beta 1, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are available now for registered developers as part of the Apple Beta Software Program. Critically, these are still developer betas and not close to final, meaning that bugs, slowdowns, and speedbumps are to be expected.
In addition to four major new additions to Apple Intelligence, they also introduce support for English (Australia), English (Canada), English (New Zealand), English (South Africa), and English (UK).
Leading the charge beyond support for new languages is the first glimpse at Genmoji, Apple’s generative AI emoji tool that lets you combine emojis to create custom ones. This lands alongside Image Playground, Apple’s answer to the best AI image generators. We haven’t had the chance to test these features yet, but Genmoji and Image Playground can be accessed directly from the Messages app, Notes, and Freeform.
(Image credit: Future / Apple)
Image Playground will also be a standalone app on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Thanks to dedicated Genmoji and Image Playground APIs for developers, more apps will have access to these AI image tools.
Elsewhere, Siri now has ChatGPT integration allowing you to ask OpenAI’s chatbot questions directly from inside Apple’s voice assistant. It’s worth noting that this will be entirely opt-in, and Siri will flag when ChatGPT is answering a request.
Siri is also smarter; while not quite as smart as the final Apple Intelligence-powered version we expect to see next year, it will still be able to respond if you stumble over your words. Furthermore, Siri now has access to all of Apple’s how-to guides to help you with important device information.
Even more Apple Intelligence
Visual Intelligence on iPhone 16 (Image credit: Apple)
There’s also an added surprise for iPhone 16 owners, as Camera Control now works with Visual Intelligence, allowing you to take a picture of anything you see and let Apple Intelligence do the searching for you.
In Apple’s demo of the feature during the iPhone 16 keynote, Visual Intelligence could give you the opening hours for a restaurant from just a picture of the building or even determine the breed of a dog – pretty cool indeed. It’s one that we cannot wait to try.
Writing Tools, one of the first Apple Intelligence tools set to release next week, has also received a big upgrade in 18.2 with new options to help shape text generation. You’ll be able to ask Apple Intelligence to write in specific tones, giving users far more control over the generated text.
iOS 18.2 looks like an excellent upgrade to the iPhone, and we can’t wait to try out all of the new Apple Intelligence additions. However, while you can try the iOS 18.2 developer beta today alongside iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2, all of these are still in development. There is always the chance you could experience major bugs, and it is not recommended to be installed on your primary device.
iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 developer betas are available later today. iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 will officially launch next week.
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