iOS 18.4 release candidate 2 is out now with multiple improvements and new features

iOS 18.4 is destined to be a big release. The headline feature of iOS 18 is Apple Intelligence, and the various AI features have been rolling out piece by piece. After getting no major new AI features in iOS 18.3, Apple is bringing Apple Intelligence to many more countries in iOS 18.4 as well as a new device—Vision Pro.

However, the anticipated Siri update has to wait. There are several big Siri updates coming, including personal context, app intents, and screen reading, but they’re missing from the first iOS 18.4 beta, and Apple is having such trouble making it work well that it’s not coming until next year.

Despite missing this important feature—promised at WWDC last fall—there are lots of improvements in iOS 18.4.

The iOS 18.4 beta began on February 21 with a developer beta, and the first public beta on February 24. We expect the final release in early April.

Updated March 28: The release candidate 2 of iOS 18.4 is now available.

What’s new in iOS 18.4

We’ll update this section with the features and changes found in the latest iOS 18.4 beta, as they are found.

Apple Intelligence languages: Including Simplified Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish—along with localized English for Singapore and India.

Apple Intelligence regions: With iOS 18.4, iPhone and iPad users in the EU will gain access to Apple Intelligence features for the first time.

Siri in Control Center: There are new Control Center options for Type to Siri and Talk to Siri.

Visual Intelligence: You can now invoke Visual Intelligence on the Action button or from Control Center, and Visual Intelligence is available on iPhone 15 Pro.

Prioritize Notifications: Apple Intelligence will attempt to show notifications that may be important in a separate section on the lock screen. Go to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications to enable.

New Emoji: There are seven new emoji in this release—Face with bags under eyes, Fingerprint, Harp, Leafless tree, Root vegetable, Shovel, Splatter.

Image Playground sketch style: The third image style for Image Playground, sketch, is finally here. It was demonstrated back at WWDC last summer but never made it into a prior iOS 18 release.

Food in News+: A new section in Apple News+ for curated recipes, restaurant reviews, and curated stories about food and dining.

Ambient Music: You can add four different ambient music categories to Control Center: Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing.

CarPlay third icon row: The two-row limit for app icons on CarPlay displays has been expanded to three rows.

Apple Vision Pro app: iOS 18.4 brings a new iPhone app that offers users a new way to download Vision Pro apps and games from the App Store on your iPhone, as well as browse Apple TV content and access your library of spatial photos and videos. It only shows up if you have a Vision Pro associated with the same Apple ID.

Mail categories in iPadOS: With the iPadOS 18.4 release, the iPad version of the Mail app finally gets the categories that have been on the iPhone since iOS 18.2.

Default translation app: In the Default Apps section of Settings, there is now an option to set a default translation app.

iOS 18.4: How to install the developer beta

You’ll need to be registered as an Apple developer. Beginning with iOS 18.4, you don’t need to be in the $99 per year developer program to access the developer beta. A free developer account will do. You can get one via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app:

Download the Apple Developer App from the App Store.
Open the app.
Tap on Account.
Sign in using your usual Apple ID.

Registered developers can choose to get the Public Beta instead by selecting iOS Public Beta in the Software Update screen. It may take a little time after registering as a developer for the option to appear in Software Updates.

iOS 18.4: How to install the public beta

If you want to be among the first to test iOS 18.4, you can sign up for the public beta test, which should arrive in late February. The process for installing a beta has changed in iOS 16.4. Here’s how the new process works now: