Apple introduced the iOS 18.2 beta last month, bringing a suite of AI and exciting features, including Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration into Siri, and enhanced writing tools in various applications across iOS. The update also brought back the volume slider on the iPhone"s lock screen and also lets EU users delete the App Store and more native apps from their iPhones.
Now, as per the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg"s Mark Gurman gives an interesting detail about the upcoming stable iOS 18.2 software update, and it packs some good news. According to Gurman, the update may arrive a bit earlier than expected, potentially as early as the week of December 2, barring any expected delays.
Gurman writes, "The iOS 18.2 operating system update, which includes major improvements to Apple Intelligence and is likely to arrive on the earlier side of December, I’m told. How early? The week of Dec. 2, barring any unexpected delays."
Apple may be quite eager to hand over the next wave of Apple Intelligence features to as many iPhones as possible since the iPhone 16 series is already out, and they were AI-less out of the box. Gurman also noted that the next iOS update will come in April and will introduce iOS 18.4. The iOS 18.4 update is expected to bring improvements to Siri letting the "digital assistant tap into people’s data and respond to queries based on the information on their screens."
Additionally, the upcoming iOS 18.2 update may begin offering Apple Intelligence to localized English in the U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The April iOS 18.4 update is tipped to expand to the European Union. China is nowhere on the horizon for now, and it may not happen until iOS 19. Also, the Gemini chatbot may not arrive in iOS until next year, giving OpenAI an exclusive window since "it isn’t exactly paying for the technology."