Apple’s iOS 18.2 Beta Brings AI Features

On Nov. 4, Apple released the beta version of iOS 18.2, providing the next look at the artificial intelligence features coming to Apple’s mobile devices broadly in December. Apple also sent out corresponding beta releases for iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision and the development environment XCode 16.2 beta 2.

What does iOS 18 beta 2 add?

Expanded AI features, including ChatGPT’s integration with Siri, are highlights of the iOS 18.2 beta. The new Apple Intelligence AI features include:

• Image Playground and Image Wand bring generative AI picture generation and editing tools.
• Genmoji allows users to create emojis using natural language prompts or based on pictures of real people.
• Writing Tools adds AI rewriting, proofreading, and text summarization to various applications.
• ChatGPT integration for Siri. This is intended to make the voice assistant respond to natural language and handle some writing queries.

iOS 18 beta 2 also adds:

• The new camera controls focus the image with one press and take the picture with a second. This appealingly evokes an analog camera, but time will tell whether it will feel clunky on the phone.
• Find My will now allow users to share the location of a lost item with another person. It will send a link that users can open on any device, not just from Apple.
• A new design for the Mail app adds Gmail-like category tabs.
• Various new settings and UI changes are available to explore.

These AI features align with offerings from Apple’s competitors. Still, it will be interesting to see if Siri loyalty attracts an energetic new audience to the possibility of custom — or even agentic — AI voice commands.

However, in the release notes for iOS 18.2, Apple notes that requesting ChatGPT to create images in Writing Tools might not work. Users may also need to reboot their device after downloading the beta so that messages can appear in the Messages app.

SEE: The UK offers a free AI self-assessment tool for businesses to help manage the risks of AI.

Upcoming feature may estimate how much time it will take for your phone battery to charge

9to5Mac was the first to report that iOS 18.2 includes a handy feature called Battery Intelligence, which provides a time estimate for how long it will take to charge your phone battery.

I can envision this as a pleasant, small reduction of range anxiety when I’m in an airport for a work trip or out in the city for the day. 9to5Mac searched the beta’s code for the charge time estimate, so don’t expect the feature to be available in the beta or the public release. Furthermore, with “intelligence” in the name, I wonder whether Apple considered attaching AI to this estimate—but that may just be a matter of branding.

Get a first look at the app transaction options now required in the EU

The iOS 18.2 beta will show Apple’s upcoming changes to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the EU.

These include options for developers to offer iOS and iPadOS apps on app stores outside of the Apple Store. Developers can create their own app marketplaces, and users can choose which app marketplace and contactless transaction app to set as their default and which to delete. To comply, support for exporting user data in Safari and for web browsers to import user data was also added in iOS 18.2.

Apple isn’t happy about the changes, saying the EU directives introduce new possibilities for “malware, fraud and scams, illicit and harmful content, and other privacy and security threats.” The EU says Apple’s ‘walled garden’ ecosystem prevents competition from other app stores, payment methods, and creators.

How to download the iOS 18.2 beta

To participate, sign up for the free Apple Beta Software Program. Apple Intelligence features require iPhone 15 Pro or later to run generative AI on-device.