The wait is over for a few of the most anticipated Apple Intelligence options. Apple launched iOS 18.2 in December, and the replace brings a complete host of AI options to your iPhone — if in case you have a suitable one. Genmoji, Visual Intelligence and ChatGPT built-in Siri are a few of the new options you may see in your iPhone if in case you have iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max or a tool from the iPhone 16 lineup. Even if in case you have one other iPhone, you may nonetheless get new options, like an up to date Mail app and extra.
Read extra: An Expert’s Guide to iOS 18
You can obtain the replace by going to Settings > General > Software Update, tapping Update Now and following the prompts in your display.
Here are a few of the options that landed in your iPhone with iOS 18.2. Note that earlier than you employ Apple Intelligence, you need to request it on your iPhone. To accomplish that, go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and faucet Get Apple Intelligence.
Glowing Siri and ChatGPT
Apple introduced at WWDC in May that its digital assistant Siri was quickly getting into a “new period” because of Apple Intelligence enhancements. And Apple is bringing most of these enhancements to some iPhones with iOS 18.2.
With Apple Intelligence, as a substitute of seeing a brand pop up in your display once you activate Siri, you may see a glowing mild round your display. You can use Siri such as you usually would, and it’s also possible to entry ChatGPT on your queries.
Whenever you are utilizing an AI chatbot, do not forget that outcomes will not be correct and will range even in the event you ask the identical query twice. I requested Siri to make use of ChatGPT to indicate me methods to brew a cup of espresso, and at first, it wrote out a seven-step course of on methods to make drip espresso in an ordinary brewer. Those directions have been somewhat wonky, telling me to measure out my water and occasional grounds earlier than grinding my espresso beans. Another time, I requested the identical factor and Siri gave me a five-step course of, which was extra correct. There is a disclaimer on the backside of those ChatGPT requests that reads, “Check necessary data for errors.”
You may also copy what Siri and ChatGPT present you by tapping a button within the prime proper nook of the window that exhibits two items of paper. Then, you may paste the response in a message or a word if you’d like — however once more, it is best to confirm the main points of your request.
Read extra: ChatGPT Gets Integrated Into Siri With iOS 18.2
Genmoji
There are over 3,000 emoji you should utilize, however generally you may’t discover the one you actually need. Genmoji is right here to assist. With the Apple Intelligence Genmoji characteristic, you may describe the emoji you are searching for and iPhones with Apple Intelligence will try to generate a brand new emoji based mostly in your description.
To use Genmoji, go right into a message and faucet the emoji keyboard within the backside left nook of your keyboard. Then, kind the emoji you are searching for into the search bar. If there is not an emoji that matches your description, faucet Create New Emoji just under the search bar. Your iPhone will then present you a number of variations of what it got here up with based mostly in your description. You can swipe by means of the emoji, and once you discover a Genmoji you want, faucet Add within the prime proper nook to completely add that new emoji to your keyboard.
Read extra: How to Create Custom Emoji With Genmoji and AI
Visual Intelligence
This is Apple’s reply to Google Lens. Visual Intelligence is an Apple Intelligence characteristic that permits you to level your digital camera at one thing, like a canine, and your iPhone will then use the picture to go looking on-line that will help you determine it. The characteristic will also be used to detect cellphone numbers to create contacts, scan QR codes and translate languages.
You may also combine this characteristic with ChatGPT that will help you determine objects, in addition to that will help you higher perceive what’s on a web page or display. Note that you do not want a ChatGPT account to make use of the mixing.
This characteristic can be solely accessible on the iPhone 16 lineup because it makes use of the sequence’ new digital camera management side-button. If you may have one of many new iPhones, lengthy press the brand new side-button the place the SIM card tray was to rapidly pull up Visual Intelligence.
“The digital camera management supplies instantaneous, quick access to the digital camera with only a click on. It lets you regulate varied digital camera options just by sliding your finger,” Apple stated at its Glowtime occasion in September. “Its handy design ensures it is all the time inside attain.”
Image Playground
This Apple Intelligence characteristic takes Genmoji one step additional and allows you to create entire photographs based mostly on textual content prompts in a device known as Image Playground. This characteristic is a standalone app and it will also be present in Message by tapping the plus (+) button to the left of your textual content field.
Image Playground is crammed with immediate recommendations, themes, locations and extra to get you began. You can enter a number of prompts to make the picture extra particular, however as soon as I entered seven prompts a popup appeared telling me to make use of fewer. There’s additionally an choice to alter the artwork type from the default cartoony 3D photographs to illustrations.
If you need to put your self, pals, household or your pet into one in all these photographs, you may. Tap the plus (+) signal within the backside proper nook after which faucet both Choose Photo or Take Photo. You’ll nonetheless have to decide on or enter a immediate along with the picture.
The characteristic can create some easy photographs, and it may be unintentionally humorous with how bizarre different photographs are. In one occasion, I chosen the prompts astronaut, artist and lighthouse. One of the outcomes confirmed an astronaut leaning in opposition to what I Imagine is an invisible stool whereas portray a multicolor seashore scene. But for some cause there is a lighthouse simply floating within the background. Phenomenal work.
You may also draw a sketch in Notes, choose your sketch after which use it with Visual Playground. That means you may both clear up your sketch, or if — like me — you are not an artist, you should utilize the characteristic to flesh out your sketch.
Read extra: Everything You Need to Know About Image Playground
Find My enhancements
The Find My app can be utilized to find issues like your AirPods and MacBook, and with iOS 18.2, Apple makes it simple for everybody to get assist discovering misplaced objects. If you go into Find My > Items and faucet one in all your objects, you may have two new choices: Share Item Location and Show Contact Info.
If you allow Share Item Location, Find My will create a hyperlink that you could share with others to allow them to notify you in the event that they discover your misplaced or lacking merchandise. This could possibly be particularly useful as we head into the vacations as extra persons are touring and shedding baggage at airports or leaving objects behind. These hyperlinks expire after one week, although, which will not be sufficient time to seek out them.
If you allow Show Contact Info, others can connect with misplaced objects to allow them to discover methods to contact you and produce your merchandise again to you.
New Mail classes
The Mail app on each iPhone additionally will get an improve in iOS 18.2. Apple introduced in September that Mail would quickly be capable of kind emails to a number of classes to maintain your necessary emails in a single place and adverts or promotions in one other, like Gmail and Outlook do. The new structure retains issues largely tidy, however Mail does not all the time get it proper. For instance, I discovered an e-mail for digital tickets I beforehand ordered within the Promotions class quite than the Primary class.
You haven’t got to make use of the brand new structure in the event you do not need to. To change your Mail structure again, go into Mail, faucet the three dots (…) within the prime proper nook and faucet List View.
Read extra: What to Know About Mail Categories and How to Disable Them
Volume slider is again in your lock display
Apple beforehand eliminated the quantity slider on the iPhone’s lock display. You might nonetheless use the quantity buttons on the aspect of your iPhone, however it wasn’t as exact because the slider. With iOS 18.2, you may add the slider again to your lock display.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio and Visual and faucet the toggle subsequent to Always Show Volume Control. Now, whether or not you are listening to a podcast or music from one in all Apple’s apps or a third-party app the quantity slider shall be current in your lock display.
iPhone speaker quantity restrict
If you may have children who wish to play video games or watch movies on their iPhones and so they set the music to full blast, that would injury their gadget’s audio system — to not point out that it could possibly be annoying to you. But iOS 18.2 lets set a most quantity restrict on an iPhone.
To set a restrict go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Volume Limit and faucet the toggle subsequent to Limit Maximum Volume. A scale will seem and you may choose what you need the restrict to be. Apple does word that this restrict does not apply to issues like cellphone calls, FaceTime calls, emergency calls or Find My sounds.
Change your default apps
If you want utilizing one other messaging or e-mail app, like Signal or Gmail, over Apple’s native apps, you may change your default apps to these different apps in iOS 18.2. And in some areas you may even change your default app market.
Read extra: Don’t Like Your Default iPhone Apps? Here’s How to Change Them
Apple News Plus subscribers get Sudoku puzzles
Apple launched Apple News Plus in 2019. Since then the tech firm has made some modifications to its information aggregator service, just like the addition of the Quartiles puzzles. With iOS 18.2, Apple brings Sudoku to Apple News Plus subscribers.
If you subscribe to Apple News Plus ($13 a month) go to News > Following > Puzzles to play the newest puzzle. Every day, Apple launches a number of of those puzzles, every ranging in problem, so there’s all the time a brand new brain-teaser to play.
Read extra: What You Need to Know About Sudoku on Your iPhone
Require Screen On digital camera toggle
If you may have any telephones from the iPhone 16 lineup, you may have the Camera Control button. You should press this twice to open your digital camera in case your display is asleep or inactive, however Apple launched a brand new toggle within the iOS 18.2 to be able to press the Camera Control as soon as to open your digital camera even when your display is off.
To do that, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and faucet the toggle subsequent to Require Screen On to disable the characteristic. Now in the event you press the Camera Control whereas your display is off, your iPhone will open your Camera and not using a second press. However, it might additionally result in by accident opening your digital camera extra typically.
Here are the total launch notes for iOS 18.2.
Apple Intelligence (All iPhone 16 fashions, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max)
1. Image Playground
- A brand new app that permits you to use ideas, descriptions, and other people out of your picture library to create enjoyable, playful photographs in a number of kinds.
- Swipe by means of previews to select from as you add ideas to your playground.
- Choose from animation and illustration kinds when creating your picture.
- Create photographs in Messages and Freeform, in addition to third-party apps.
- Images are synced in your Image Playground library throughout all of your gadgets with iCloud.
2. Genmoji
- Genmoji lets you create a customized emoji proper from the keyboard.
- Genmoji are synced in your sticker drawer throughout all of your gadgets with iCloud.
3. ChatGPT assist
- ChatGPT from OpenAl will be accessed proper from Siri or Writing Tool.
- Compose in Writing Tools lets you create one thing from scratch with ChatGPT.
- Siri can faucet into ChatGPT when related to supply you a solution.
- A ChatGPT account shouldn’t be required and your requests shall be nameless and will not be used to coach OpenAl’s fashions.
- Sign in with ChatGPT to entry your account advantages, and requests shall be coated by OpenAl’s knowledge insurance policies.
4. Image Wand turns sketches and handwritten or typed notes into photographs in Notes.
- Describe your change in Writing Tools lets you counsel how you want one thing rewritten, for instance as a poem.
Camera Control (iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max)
- Visual Intelligence with Camera Control helps you immediately study locations or work together with data just by pointing your iPhone on the object, with the choice to faucet into Google Search or ChatGPT.
- Camera Control two-stage shutter helps you to lock focus and publicity in Camera when mild urgent the Camera Control.
- Mail Categorization types your messages that will help you prioritize crucial messages.
- Digest view teams all the messages from one sender right into a single bundle for simple searching.
Photos
- Video viewing enhancements, together with the power to wash frame-by-frame and a setting to show off auto-looping video playback.
- Improvements when navigating Collections views, together with the power to swipe proper to return to the earlier view.
- Recently Viewed and Recently Shared album historical past will be cleared.
- Favorites album seems within the Utilities assortment along with Pinned Collections.
Safari
- New background photographs to customise your Safari Start Page.
- Import and Export lets you export your searching knowledge from Safari and import searching knowledge from one other app into Safari.
- HTTPS Priority upgrades URLs to HTTPS at any time when doable.
- File Download Live Activity exhibits the progress of a file obtain within the Dynamic Island and on your house display.
This replace additionally consists of the next enhancements and bug fixes:
- Voice Memos helps layered recording, letting you add vocals over an present track thought with out the necessity for headphones — then import your two-track tasks immediately into Logic Pro (iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max).
- Share Item Location in Find My helps you find and get better misplaced objects by simply and securely sharing the placement of an AirTag or Find My community accent with trusted third events, corresponding to airways.
- Natural language search in Apple Music and Apple TV app helps you to describe what you are searching for utilizing any mixture of classes like genres, moods, actors, many years, and extra.
- Favorite Categories in Podcasts lets you select your favourite classes and get related present suggestions that you could simply entry in your Library.
- Personalized Search web page in Podcasts highlights essentially the most related classes and editorially curated collections tailor-made to you.
- Sudoku for News Plus Puzzles offered in three problem ranges and accessible for News Plus subscribers.
- Support for the Hearing Test characteristic on AirPods Pro 2 in Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and the UK.
- Support for the Hearing Aid characteristic on AirPods Pro 2 in United Arab Emirates.
- Pre-market value quotes in Stocks helps you to monitor NASDAQ and NYSE tickers previous to market open.
- Fixes a problem the place lately captured images don’t seem instantly within the All Photos grid.
- Fixes a problem the place Night mode images in Camera might seem degraded when capturing lengthy exposures (iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max).
Some options will not be accessible for all areas or on all Apple gadgets.
Check Out the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s Cameras, Display and Colors
See all images
For extra on iOS, you may take a look at my evaluation of iOS 18, what to learn about iOS 18.1 and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
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