The wait is over for a few of the most anticipated Apple Intelligence options. Apple launched iOS 18.2 on Dec. 11, and the replace brings a complete host of AI to your iPhone — when you’ve got a suitable one. Genmoji, Visual Intelligence and ChatGPT built-in Siri are only a few of the brand new options you will see in your iPhone when you’ve got iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max or a tool from the iPhone 16 lineup. Even when you’ve got one other iPhone, you will nonetheless get new options, like an replace to your Mail app.
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, it’s a must 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 coming 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 an alternative of seeing a brand pop up in your display whenever you activate Siri, you will see a glowing mild round your display. You can use Siri such as you usually would, and you too can entry ChatGPT on your queries.
Whenever you are utilizing an AI chatbot, do not forget that outcomes will not be correct and should differ even when you ask the identical query twice. I requested Siri to make use of ChatGPT to point out me the best way to brew a cup of espresso, and at first, it wrote out a seven-step course of on the best way to make drip espresso in a typical brewer. Those directions had been slightly wonky, telling me to measure out my water and low 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 information for errors.”
You may copy what Siri and ChatGPT present you by tapping a button within the high proper nook of the window that reveals two items of paper. Then, you may paste the response in a message or a word in order for you — however once more, you must confirm the small print 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 typically you may’t discover the one you really need. Genmoji is right here to assist. With the Apple Intelligence Genmoji characteristic, you may describe the emoji you are in search of and iPhones with Apple Intelligence will try and 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 in search of 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 couple of variations of what it got here up with based mostly in your description. You can swipe by means of the emoji, and whenever you discover a Genmoji you want, faucet Add within the high 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 allows 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 telephone numbers to create contacts, scan QR codes and translate languages.
You may combine this characteristic with ChatGPT that will help you determine gadgets, 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 combination.
This characteristic can also be solely accessible on the iPhone 16 lineup because it makes use of the collection’ 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 means that you can modify varied digital camera options just by sliding your finger,” Apple mentioned 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 complete pictures based mostly on textual content prompts in a device referred to 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 full of immediate options, 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 possibility to vary the artwork fashion from the default cartoony 3D pictures to illustrations.
If you wish to put your self, buddies, household or your pet into one among these pictures, 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 pictures, and it may be unintentionally humorous with how bizarre different pictures are. In one occasion, I chosen the prompts astronaut, artist and lighthouse. One of the outcomes confirmed an astronaut leaning towards what I Imagine is an invisible stool whereas portray a multicolor seaside scene. But for some cause there is a lighthouse simply floating within the background. Phenomenal work.
You may draw a sketch in Notes, choose your sketch after which use it with Visual Playground. That manner 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 straightforward for everybody to get assist discovering misplaced gadgets. If you go into Find My > Items and faucet one among your gadgets, 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 you can share with others to allow them to notify you in the event that they discover your misplaced or lacking merchandise. This might be particularly useful as we head into the vacations as extra individuals are touring and dropping baggage at airports or leaving gadgets 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 hook up with misplaced gadgets 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 to kind emails to a number of classes to maintain your necessary emails in a single place and advertisements 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 do not have to make use of the brand new structure when you do not wish to. To change your Mail structure again, go into Mail, faucet the three dots (…) within the high 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 may nonetheless use the quantity buttons on the facet of your iPhone, but it surely 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 among Apple’s apps or a third-party app the quantity slider can be current in your lock display.
iPhone speaker quantity restrict
If you may have youngsters who wish to play video games or watch movies on their iPhones and so they set the music to full blast, that might harm their machine’s audio system — to not point out that it might 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’ll choose what you need the restrict to be. Apple does word that this restrict does not apply to issues like telephone calls, FaceTime calls, emergency calls or Find My sounds.
Change your default apps
If you want utilizing one other messaging or e mail apps, like Signal or Gmail, over Apple’s native apps, you may change your default apps to these different apps in iOS 18.2. Go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps after which you may change which apps your iPhone makes use of routinely for sending messages, emails, searching the online and extra.
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 is bringing 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 Sudoku puzzle. Every day Apple launches a couple of of those puzzles, every ranging in issue, so there’s all the time a brand new brain-teaser to play.
Read extra: Apple Intelligence’s New Notification Summary Feature Can Be Absurdly Wrong
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 need to 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 with the intention 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 when you press the Camera Control whereas your display is off, your iPhone will open your Camera with out a second press. However, it may additionally result in by accident opening your digital camera extra usually.
Here are the complete 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 allows you to use ideas, descriptions, and folks out of your picture library to create enjoyable, playful pictures in a number of types.
- Swipe by means of previews to select from as you add ideas to your playground.
- Choose from animation and illustration types when creating your picture.
- Create pictures in Messages and Freeform, in addition to third-party apps.
- Images are synced in your Image Playground library throughout all of your units with iCloud.
2. Genmoji
- Genmoji means that you can create a customized emoji proper from the keyboard.
- Genmoji are synced in your sticker drawer throughout all of your units with iCloud.
3. ChatGPT assist
- ChatGPT from OpenAl might be accessed proper from Siri or Writing Tool.
- Compose in Writing Tools means that you can create one thing from scratch with ChatGPT.
- Siri can faucet into ChatGPT when related to supply you a solution.
- A ChatGPT account is just not required and your requests can be nameless and will not be used to coach OpenAl’s fashions.
- Sign in with ChatGPT to entry your account advantages, and requests can be coated by OpenAl’s knowledge insurance policies.
4. Image Wand turns sketches and handwritten or typed notes into pictures in Notes.
- Describe your change in Writing Tools means that you can recommend how you need 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 find out about locations or work together with info 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 kinds your messages that will help you prioritize an important messages.
- Digest view teams all the messages from one sender right into a single bundle for straightforward 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 might be cleared.
- Favorites album seems within the Utilities assortment along with Pinned Collections.
Safari
- New background pictures to customise your Safari Start Page.
- Import and Export allows you to export your searching knowledge from Safari and import searching knowledge from one other app into Safari.
- HTTPS Priority upgrades URLs to HTTPS each time doable.
- File Download Live Activity reveals the progress of a file obtain within the Dynamic Island and on your property display.
This replace additionally contains the next enhancements and bug fixes:
- Voice Memos helps layered recording, letting you add vocals over an present music 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 well misplaced gadgets by simply and securely sharing the situation 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 in search of utilizing any mixture of classes like genres, moods, actors, many years, and extra.
- Favorite Categories in Podcasts means that you can select your favourite classes and get related present suggestions you can simply entry in your Library.
- Personalized Search web page in Podcasts highlights probably the most related classes and editorially curated collections tailor-made to you.
- Sudoku for News Plus Puzzles offered in three issue 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 worth quotes in Stocks helps you to monitor NASDAQ and NYSE tickers previous to market open.
- Fixes a difficulty the place just lately captured photographs don’t seem instantly within the All Photos grid.
- Fixes a difficulty the place Night mode photographs in Camera may 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 units.
Check Out the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s Cameras, Display and Colors
See all photographs
For extra on iOS, you may try my overview of iOS 18, what to find out about iOS 18.1 and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
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