At the end of October, with iOS 18.1., Apple released the first iteration of its Apple Intelligence platform to users.
The new tools it offered included generative writing capabilities, the ability to summarize notifications and emails, and an AI-powered cleanup tool that allows users to easily remove unwanted objects from photos. The writing and summarizing tools were a particular boon for productivity.
With the release of iOS 18.2 in the coming days, Apple Intelligence will feature AI-generated art-making capabilities and the eagerly anticipated ChatGPT integration. Here’s what you need to know.
New Apple Intelligence features coming to your iPhone this week
Thanks to the beta version of iOS 18.2 that Apple has given developers access to over the past few months, we know exactly what new features Apple Intelligence will gain when the updated operating system gets released to iPhones everywhere. They include:
- Genmoji: This is probably the most eye-catching feature of Apple Intelligence. You can now use Apple’s AI to generate custom emojis on the fly, which you can use in messaging and other apps. This means you can quickly create the perfect emoji, no matter the context of your discussion. Perhaps you need an emoji of a pizza slice wearing sunglasses or one of a dog in a cowboy hat. Just tell Apple Intelligence, and the custom emoji will be created on the spot. You can even create Genmoji that looks like you or your family and friends.
- Image Playground: Genmoji isn’t the only generative art feature coming to Apple Intelligence. iOS 18.2 also includes a new app called Image Playground, which allows you to generate images for use in emails, presentations, documents, or anything else. You can describe the desired image in your own words or select from suggestions in the app. You can even choose the style of the finished art, such as animation or illustration.
- Image Wand: This is another generative art tool included in iOS 18.2, but this one isn’t a dedicated app. Instead, Image Wand is found inside the Notes app, which you use to turn your rough sketches into more refined and polished artwork. For example, you can use your finger to squiggle the rough outline of a dog in your note about man’s best friend and then circle that rough outline with the Image Wand tool. Apple Intelligence will then generate a more professional image of the dog for you.
- ChatGPT in Siri: iOS 18.2 also adds ChatGPT to Siri. ChatGPT doesn’t power Siri or Apple Intelligence, but now you can have ChatGPT answer a question if you don’t like Siri’s answer. If you choose to do this, Siri’s interface will display ChatGPT’s response without you having to open up a dedicated ChatGPT app. You can also use ChatGPT to generate or refine text instead of using Apple Intelligence’s built-in Writing Tools that shipped with iOS 18.1.
- Visual Intelligence: If you have an iPhone 16 or later, you can now use the new camera button on the side of the iPhone to help identify what the camera sees. You can use Visual Intelligence to identify the tree in front of you, get ratings for the restaurant you’re walking past, or find out where you can buy that scarf your friend is wearing.
In addition to offering these new tools, iOS 18.2 will expand Apple Intelligence to more language regions. Previously, Apple Intelligence only supported U.S. English, but with iOS 18.2, It adds localization support for English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
How to get the new Apple Intelligence features on your iPhone
Apple hasn’t announced a firm release date for iOS 18.2 (and the new Apple Intelligence features) other than saying that the new software will be available “in December.” However, MacRumors suggests the iOS 18.2 update will likely become available on Monday, December 9th.
But if you want to try out all the new Apple Intelligence features, you’ll need to ensure you have an iPhone capable of running Apple Intelligence. Those iPhones include the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Some earlier iPhones can install iOS 18.2, but the Apple Intelligence features are only available for the iPhone 15 Pro and later. (The new Apple Intelligence features are also available on select iPads running iPadOS 18.2 and on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 15.2.)
To upgrade to iOS 18.2, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap General, and then Software Update.
