Apple continues to expand its arsenal of AI-powered features for iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, and its next software update, iOS 18.4, is no exception. Scheduled to be released soon, this version will introduce six new improvements and features for Apple Intelligence on compatible iPhone devices. Here's what's new in this version if you have a Compatible iPhone Apple Intelligence.
Table of Contents
Priority Notifications: A little extra order on your iPhone screen
One of the appreciated functions of Apple Intelligence is the ability to summarize notifications, saving time and reducing screen clutter. Especially if you have a lot of apps that send notifications frequently. With iOS 18.4, Apple takes this idea further by introducing “Priority notifications”.
This notification prioritization feature divides alerts into two distinct categories on the lock screen: notifications deemed essential will be displayed in a highlighted area, while less important ones will appear below, with a more discreet visual presentation. Users have the freedom to enable or disable this option on a per-app basis, thus customizing the experience based on their own priorities.
Visual Intelligence arrives on more iPhone models
Initially launched exclusively for iPhone 16, the Visual Intelligence feature, which allows the identification of objects and information in images, is now also available to device users. iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Although these models lack the Camera Control button found on the iPhone 16, Apple introduced access to Visual Intelligence through a new button in Control Center, which can also be configured on the Action button or on the lock screen.
Also, in iOS 18.4, the Visual Intelligence feature is introduced for iPhone 16e devices as well.
Image Playground gets a new graphic style on iOS 18.4
Apple originally introduced the app Image Playground with three graphic styles for creating AI images:
- Animation
- Illustration
- Sketching
With iOS 18.4, Apple completes the trio originally promised with the launch of iOS 18.2 in December by adding the “Sketch” style, which mimics pencil drawing. This option offers additional creativity for both new images and existing ones, which can be re-edited in this style.
Faster reviews in App Store
I don't know exactly how welcome this new capability is, but it seems that Artificial Intelligence is also making its way into App Store to create summaries of user reviews. In iOS 18.4, app and game listings will now include AI-generated summaries of user reviews. While full reviews will remain available, these summaries provide a quick look at the overall opinions, helping users make faster decisions when choosing an app (if the AI provides a relevant summary).
Support for new languages
One of the weaknesses of Apple Intelligence at the beginning it was limited to English. Although support was later extended to regional variants of English, many users were unhappy with this limitation. Starting with iOS 18.4, Apple support Apple Intelligence for eight more languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Simplified). Additionally, users in India and Singapore will get support for local English.
Making a small parenthesis, I still hope that Apple will also turn its attention to the countries of Eastern Europe. The introduction of Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian and other languages. would show that Apple is truly a company that respects all users. Especially since Apple Intelligence we all know that it is based on the language developed by OpenAI, which offers support for many languages. As this technology evolves, ChatGPT will soon be able to respond in "dead" or unwritten languages.
Apple Intelligence arrives in the European Union
As I'm sure many of you already know, Apple Intelligence arrives with some delay in European Union countries (I wrote about this here and here). Fortunately, with iOS 18.4, that wait is over for Europe, where AI features will be available on iPhone and iPad for the first time. Previously, only Mac users from the EU could access these features, but the update removes this restriction.
How long do we have to wait for a smarter Siri?
If you're waiting for major Siri upgrades, you can keep waiting. The current update doesn't bring us a smarter Siri assistant, aside from the ChatGPT integration that's already available on the Mac. However, as we approach WWDC 2025, where iOS 19 is expected to be released, there's hope for new innovations in the field of artificial intelligence. Until then, I'd say iOS 18.4 offers enough news to keep us interested.
For devices iPhone 14 and older than 2022, this update doesn't bring anything spectacular. Although they were launched just two and a half years ago, the range of devices iPhone 14 (and older models) are not compatible with Apple Intelligence.
