We can say that we have been waiting for this first beta of iOS 18.4! Apple wanted to take its time rather than delivering a version to developers that was too poorly put together. The stakes are high: iOS 18.4 brings support for Apple Intelligence functions in the European Union, in eight languages of the old continent (French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish).
Lots of new AI features for iOS 18.4
The general public will discover all this in April; Developers can now take advantage of it, and Apple is undoubtedly planning a public beta in the coming days for the most experienced users who don’t want to wait. All the functions of Apple Intelligence are there:
- Notification Summary: This function summarizes as best it can the content of one or more notifications grouped in a stack. Apple had to review it after complaints from press editors, Apple Intelligence tending to tell nonsense.
- Writing assistance tools: work in all apps that allow text input. These tools correct mistakes, rewrite text, give them a particular tone (friendly, professional, concise), create lists.
- Mail Reorganization: the application sorts emails into categories (important, business, subscriptions, promotions).
- Email summaries in two or three sentences.
- Smart reply in Mail (check the response proposed by the application before sending it!).
- Text transcription and summary of phone calls in the Phone app and voice memos recorded in Notes.
- Create memories in the Photos app from a text query.
- Image Playground: this app generates images from a text query and/or a photo.
- Genmoji: a function integrated into the emoji keyboard to generate emojis from a text query.
- Visual Intelligence : the equivalent of Google Lens for the iPhone 16. A long press on the camera button identifies a place or an object.
- Siri: new shiny interface around the screen, better knowledge of the functions and settings of the devices.
- Integration of ChatGPT: the OpenAI bot can take over when Siri dries up, and generate text from the writing assistance tools.
The list is long, and Apple has not finished adding new features. For example, Siri must gain a better understanding of the context of use of the device, and access specific functions of the apps. iOS 18.4 should have included these new features, but the manufacturer has clearly fallen behind.
Even if Apple Intelligence is still officially in beta, the functions are activated automatically. A strange idea, especially since all this weighs quite a lot. Don't worry, it is possible to deactivate them. The simplest tasks are generated locally, directly by the device. For those that require more judgment, Apple uses its own servers that ensure the best possible confidentiality.
To use all these functions, you must have a compatible device: iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro; iPad or Mac equipped with an M1 chip and later. The Vision Pro joins the list of devices supporting Apple Intelligence, with the first beta of visionOS 2.4.
And that's not all. This new version of iOS and iPadOS also includes an option specifically adapted to the EU (DMA requires): the ability to choose a default navigation and translation application. Finally, iOS 18.4 offers a new batch of emojis, including the one that best illustrates our times: a face with dark circles under its eyes!
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