Apple has confirmed that iOS 18.2 will roll out to iPhone users today. The update includes major new Apple Intelligence features, upgrades to the Camera Control on iPhone 16, a redesign for the Mail app, and much more. Head below for the full details on all the new iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 features.
iOS 18.2 releases today
iOS 18.2 will roll out to the general public today. You can check for the update by going to the Settings app, choosing General, and then choosing Software Update. If you don’t see iOS 18.2 as an option right away, keep checking over the course of the day.
Which iPhones get iOS 18.2?
iOS 18.2 is available to all iPhones capable of running iOS 18. Apple Intelligence features are limited to iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models.
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS and XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 and 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 and 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 and 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 and 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 and 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd gen)
- iPhone SE (3rd gen)
What’s new in iOS 18.2?
New Apple Intelligence features
The big change in iOS 18.2 is the addition of new Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration, and more.
- Image Playground
- A new app that lets you use concepts, descriptions, and people from your photo library to create fun, playful images in multiple styles
- Swipe through previews and choose from as you add concepts to your playground
- Choose from animation and illustration styles when creating your image
- Create images in Messages and Freeform, as well as third party apps
- Images are synced in your Image Playground library across all your devices with iCloud
- Genmoji
- Genmoji allows you to create a custom emoji right from the keyboard
- Genmoji are synced in your sticker drawer across all your devices with iCloud
- ChatGPT support
- ChatGPT from OpenAI can be accessed right from Siri or Writing Tools
- Compose in Writing Tools allows you to create something from scratch with ChatGPT
- Siri can tap into ChatGPT when relevant to provide you an answer
- A ChatGPT account is not required and your requests will be anonymous and won’t be used to train OpenAI’s models
- Sign in with ChatGPT to access your account benefits, and requests will be covered by OpenAI’s data policies
- Image Wand turns sketches and handwritten or typed notes into images in Notes
- Describe your change in Writing Tools allows you to suggest how you’d like something rewritten, for example as a poem
Camera Control updates
For iPhone 16 users, iOS 18.2 continues to refine the functionality and features of the Camera Control. Most notably, the update brings Visual Intelligence. This feature can be activated by long-pressing the Camera Control. Then, you can point your iPhone’s camera at something to learn more about it.
- Visual Intelligence with Camera Control helps you instantly learn about places or interact with information simply by pointing your iPhone at the object, with the option to tap into Google Search or ChatGPT
- Camera Control two-stage shutter lets you lock focus and exposure in Camera when light pressing the Camera Control
- Double-click speed: Adjust the speed of the Camera Control double-click in Settings > Accessibility > Camera Control. You can choose from Default, Slow, and Slower.
- Require Screen On: A single press of the Camera Control will automatically open the Camera app regardless of whether or not your iPhone 16’s screen is on, adjustable in the Settings app.
Mail app upgrades in iOS 18.2
iOS 18.2 brings a major redesign to the Mail app that sorts your messages into four different categories:
- Primary: Personal and time-sensitive emails
- Transactions: Confirmations and receipts
- Updates: News and social media notifications
- Promotions: Marketing emails and coupons
If you disagree with how the Mail app has categorized a specific email, you can manually recategorize it, and that preference will be saved for future emails from that sender.
The update brings a new “digest view” that shows all emails from a specific business. You can also show notification badges only for unread messages in the “Primary” category.
iOS 18.2: Photos app changes
iOS 18 introduced a dramatic redesign to the Photos app, and iOS 18.2 makes a few changes to that new design based on user feedback. Here’s how Apple says it has addressed that feedback in iOS 18.2:
- Video viewing improvements, including the ability to scrub frame-by-frame and a setting to turn off auto-looping video playback
- Improvements when navigating Collections views, including the ability to swipe right to go back to the previous view
- Recently Viewed and Recently Shared album history can be cleared
- Favorites album appears in the Utilities collection in addition to Pinned Collections
Find My upgrades
iOS 18.2 makes some big changes to the Find My app. Now, you can share the location of a misplaced AirTag or other Find My item by generating a link.
That link can be shared with others to help you find the lost item. People can access a website displaying the item’s location on an interactive map using the link. The website automatically updates with new locations and includes timestamps for the most recent updates.
Apple has also announced it is teaming up with more than 15 airlines to implement systems to accept location links to help locate lost luggage.
Safari
The iOS 18.2 release notes also tout new features for Safari, including new customization options and a Live Activity for
- New background images to customize your Safari Start Page
- Import and Export enables you to export your browsing data from Safari and import browsing data from another app into Safari
- HTTPS Priority upgrades URLs to HTTPS whenever possible
- File Download Live Activity shows the progress of a file download in the Dynamic Island and on your home screen
iOS 18.2: Odds and ends
In addition to these major new features and changes, iOS 18.2 also includes a ton of smaller updates. Here’s a full breakdown:
- Voice Memos supports layered recording, letting you add vocals over an existing song idea without the need for headphones – then import your two-track projects directly into Logic Pro (iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max)
- You can permanently add the volume slider back to your iPhone’s Lock Screen. Go to Settings, Accessibility, Audio and Visual, and toggle on or off “Always Show Volume Control.”
- The previously-announced changes to the browser choice screen for iPhone users in the EU are now live. The update also makes the App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Safari apps deletable.
- iOS 18.2 lets users set default apps for Messaging and Calling worldwide. This is managed through a new “Defaults” menu in the Settings app.
- iOS 18.2 adds a new “Type to Siri” widget for Control Center.
- A new “Volume Limit” option in the Settings app lets you set a maximum volume limit for playing audio content like songs, movies, and other media through the iPhone’s built-in speaker.
- In Settings > Apps > Safari there is a new option to import or export browsing history and website data.
- In the Podcasts app, you can now mark specific categories as favorites.
- You can now use iPhone Mirroring while using your iPhone as a hotspot for your Mac.
- There are new Shortcuts actions for the Fitness app.
- Natural language search in Apple Music and Apple TV app lets you describe what you’re looking for using any combination of categories like genres, moods, actors, decades, and more
- Favorite Categories in Podcasts allows you to choose your favorite categories and get relevant show recommendations that you can easily access in your Library
- Personalized Search page in Podcasts highlights the most relevant categories and editorially curated collections tailored to you
- Sudoku for News+ Puzzles provided in three difficulty levels and available for News+ subscribers
- Support for the Hearing Test feature on AirPods Pro 2 in Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom
- Support for the Hearing Aid feature on AirPods Pro 2 in United Arab Emirates
- Pre-market price quotes in Stocks lets you track NASDAQ and NYSE tickers prior to market open
Apple also outlines two bug fixes included in iOS 18.2:
- Fixes an issue where recently captured photos do not appear immediately in the All Photos grid
- Fixes an issue where Night mode photos in Camera could appear degraded when capturing long exposures (iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max)
9to5Mac’s Take
iOS 18.1 introduced iPhone users to Apple Intelligence with useful new features like Writing Tools, notification summaries, a new design for Siri, and new summarization and priority features in the Mail app. iOS 18.2, however, builds upon that foundation. It also includes Apple’s first foray into image generation technology.
Genmoji is the standout feature in iOS 18.2. It makes it fun and easy to create an emoji of anything. One of the best parts of Genmoji is how well it’s integrated into the keyboard. For example, if you search for an emoji that is not available, you’ll have the option to instantly create one with Genmoji based on your description.
Image Playground is another feature of Apple Intelligence that stands out thanks to its deep integration with iOS. Image Playground is available as a standalone app and integrated into other places, such as messages.
Image Playground creations aren’t the most groundbreaking images you can generate using artificial intelligence. They are, however, easy, fun, and quick to create. Image Playground can also tap into your Photos library to create pictures based on your friends and family. I’ve found it to be a fun feature that strikes a great balance of image quality and speed.
Plus, all Image Playground and Genmoji creations are generated directly on device without cloud processing.
With iOS 18.2, you can also now tap into ChatGPT through Siri. I’ve found this to be a useful fallback for when Siri fails to answer a question properly. You can access ChatGPT through Siri without signing into an OpenAI account, and no record of your conversations will be kept. Your IP address is also obscured.
Optionally, you can sign into your ChatGPT account to unlock higher usage limits. If you choose to sign in, your usage falls under ChatGPT’s data-use policies. When signed in to your ChatGPT account, your requests are saved to your chat history so you can access them later.
Apple has struck a great balance of integrating ChatGPT into Siri while also maintaining its own stance on privacy. It’s useful to have ChatGPT as an option for additional world knowledge when talking to Siri, but I hope Apple can bring this functionality in-house sooner rather than later. I’d also like to see Apple refine the Type to Siri interface to handle longer-form interactions of multiple messages better. Right now, the interface isn’t very conducive to those interactions.
My friend Federico Viticci at MacStories has a fascinating and in-depth look at how Siri and ChatGPT work together, which I highly recommend reading.
More Apple Intelligence features are coming next year with iOS 18.3 and beyond, but as 2024 comes to an end, the Apple Intelligence suite is impressively strong. There are enough features throughout iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 that I think everyone will find a way Apple Intelligence benefits their life.
iOS 18.2 is a well-rounded update beyond Apple Intelligence. The upgrades to the Find My ecosystem should make it even easier to locate your lost items. The changes to the Photos app address user feedback while maintaining what I think is an overall excellent redesign. The new categorization features in the Mail app fall a bit short for how I use email, but Apple has made it easy to revert back to the single inbox view.
What do you think of iOS 18.2 and the current state of Apple Intelligence? Are you using the features regularly? Let us know in the comments.
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