The best thing that could happen to Apple is that they be forced to license iOS to other companies, such as Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Samsung (EU Commissioners, are you listening?). These companies would not put up with the crap of the current iOS and we might actually get real improvements. If not, these companies would add their innovations on top of the base iOS. ("Innovation" is not a word Apple knows any more ... but it used to and it's surely it's not too late to focus on that?)
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Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4
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The best thing that could happen to Apple is that they be forced to license iOS to other companies, such as Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Samsung (EU Commissioners, are you listening?). These companies would not put up with the crap of the current iOS and we might actually get real improvements. If not, these companies would add their innovations on top of the base iOS. ("Innovation" is not a word Apple knows any more ... but it used to and it's surely it's not too late to focus on that?)
So just because Siri is not getting any of those delayed features that we want in AI doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t get any new features at all. Come on Apple, throw us a bone and let her do at least one new thing. Ignoring her all this time is one of the things that has gotten you into a pickle now.
Why would they encourage students not to buy a MacBook Air or Pro?
They are one of the richest companies in the world because they are aware of cannibalising sales of higher end devices
I just confirmed the ambient music stuff is available to devices not eligible for Apple Intelligence (at least, my iPad 9).
The "chill" music selection seemed overly uptempo, but the sleep one seems closer fit to function. Haven't tried the others. I'm hoping they'll eventually add some for ambient natural effects (thunderstorm, breeze, ocean, etc.), because that's what I'd really like to sleep to, without having to stream from the net or pay a subscription app for. If they're going to offer forest images as wallpaper, why not add the audio?
The "chill" music selection seemed overly uptempo, but the sleep one seems closer fit to function. Haven't tried the others. I'm hoping they'll eventually add some for ambient natural effects (thunderstorm, breeze, ocean, etc.), because that's what I'd really like to sleep to, without having to stream from the net or pay a subscription app for. If they're going to offer forest images as wallpaper, why not add the audio?
The only Apple Intelligence feature I’ve tried (since I live in the EU, it’s only available on Mac) is Image Playground. Honestly, it felt like it was made for kids. Every other AI I’ve used—Perplexity, Gemini, ChatGPT, Deepseek, etc.—works just fine for my needs. Even when I use Swedish, they provide the output I want, with only occasional minor corrections needed. Yes, Apple is integrating ChatGPT, but knowing Apple, they won’t give us its full potential. They could simply acquire an AI company and let them revamp Siri, but instead, we’re getting limited functionality. Apple devices are powerful, but they no longer work seamlessly out of the box like they used to. Take Apple Notes on iPad, for example—it can’t recognize handwriting unless it’s in English and lacks basic drawing assistance. Meanwhile, a Samsung device can do all this without needing third-party apps.
The above sentence was written with the help of ChatGPT. It did write better that me. And emphasised the points I wanted to express.
The above sentence was written with the help of ChatGPT. It did write better that me. And emphasised the points I wanted to express.
The majority of iPhone users are clueless and entirely exist within the realms of Apple's market segmentation. They are not technically smart to question Apple's artificial design decisions for a platform so they really don't know any better. Technical people look at the iPhone and know all iOS should be is a skinned mode over Mac OS. There is little if any justification for having three, four, maybe five software stacks running unique OS versions. A competent software division would design it properly. FWIW, I don't buy iPhone or iPads now entirely due to their limitations as the Software they run is garbage compared to Android's abilities.
I'm dreading this. A few months ago when the beta was offered on my phone, I was clicking through to try it until I saw the long list of things it couldn't do, of which one was verbally telling it to make a call to someone in the contacts list. Hands-free dialing is just about the only thing I actually put up with Assistant for.
Absolutely earth-shattering update. Thank god we finally have a bags under eyes emoji now I don’t have to explain my soul-crushing exhaustion with actual words. And a shovel? Perfect for burying what’s left of my hope for meaningful tech innovation. Keep it up Apple emoji theatre is clearly the future.
The first emoji in the image there highlights how exhausted we are, and perhaps those creating it on releasing more emojis! 
I have to admit, I once looked for a shovel emoji - apart from that, it's a non-update. I miss the times when we got meaningful features in a point-update. Now it's just another useless apple intelligence features I can't use on my phone and wouldn't want to anyway (even if it worked as advertised, which it usually doesn't)
". . . . someone at Apple is internally working on fixing bugs"
There fixed it for the rest of us.
I don’t care about the new features I’ll just update for the bug fixes and security and I hope they fix this terrible glitch where any section in settings you press to open it takes like a second delay to open, now I know 1 second sounds ridiculous but I’m sure those who experience this as well know what I’m talking about it’s so annoying feels like I have a iPhone 6 when actually this is happening on my iPhone 14 Pro Max smh… 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April.
Priority Notifications
If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.4 adds support for Priority Notifications, one of the features that Apple announced when introducing Apple Intelligence at the June 2024 WWDC event.
Priority Notifications display your most important messages first, highlighting them in a special section on the Lock Screen. Apple uses Apple Intelligence to decide which notifications deserve priority status, and it's typically messages notifications that need to be viewed or responded to imminently.
Upcoming deliveries are highlighted, for example, as are meetings that are happening, calendar alerts for events that are coming up that day, reminders that are due, and messages that look like they need a quick response, such as a dinner invitation.
Priority Notifications can be turned on for all apps, or set up on a per-app basis in the Notifications section of the Settings app. In the beta, Priority Notifications is not on by default, and it needs to be enabled, but that could change before iOS 18.4 is released to the public.
Apple is also adding new languages to Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.4, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified), along with localized English for Singapore and India.
Visual Intelligence Updates
For iPhone 15 Pro users, iOS 18.4 brings Visual Intelligence, a feature that was previously limited to the iPhone 16 models. Apple initially limited Visual Intelligence to iPhones with a Camera Control button, but with the iPhone 16e, Apple added an Action Button activation option, and that's what's used for the iPhone 15 Pro, too.
Visual Intelligence can be activated by linking it to the Action Button, but there's also a new Apple Intelligence section in Control Center that includes a Visual Intelligence button as an alternative way to launch it.
The Action Button and Control Center options for Visual Intelligence can also be used on iPhone 16 models, so if you have an iPhone 16 and don't like the Camera Control long press to activate Visual Intelligence, you can now use these alternatives.
New Emoji
There are a handful of new emoji characters that are available in iOS 18.4, and that's always a big deal for emoji fans. The new emoji characters include bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.
Ambient Music
iOS 18.4 has an Ambient Music toggle that can be added to Control Center. You can choose from four different sound categories, including Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing. Selecting one of the Ambient Music categories plays a random selection of sounds or music from that category.
There is no dedicated Ambient Music app and you can't choose what's playing from Control Center, but if you play a category and then tap into the Dynamic Island at the top or access the Now Playing widget, you can skip songs and see the name of what's playing.
App Store Downloads
In iOS 18.4, when you download an app from the App Store, you can pause the download right from the update list. It's a small change, but one that is useful if you're in a situation where you have low signal and need to do something else while an app download is in progress.
Before now, you could only stop and restart an app installation from the App Store interface.
Apple also added App Store review summaries, which makes it easier to see what people think of an app at a glance.
Bonus for Vision Pro Users: Guest Mode Controls
Apple added an iPhone app for the Apple Vision Pro in iOS 18.4, and it can be used to view info about the Vision Pro, find content to watch, and download apps to the headset. Overall, it's not super exciting.
What is useful, though, is an option to control Guest Mode from your iPhone or iPad if someone is using your Vision Pro. When someone that isn't you picks up your Vision Pro and puts it on, you'll see a pop up on your iPhone. From there, you can choose what apps and experiences the person will view, and you can use AirPlay mode to guide them through their Vision Pro experience.
More Features
For a full list of all the features we've found in iOS 18.4 so far, make sure to check out our iOS 18.4 roundup.
Launch Date
We're on the fourth beta of iOS 18.4, and there are likely a couple more to go. Apple plans to release iOS 18.4 in early April alongside iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.
Article Link: Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4
I can’t wait to get a priority notification for winning $5 million in the UN lottery because spam filters suck. How about instead of a glorified search engine and grammar checker using LLMs for something useful like blocking spam and phishing messages?
I had to use a Surface Tablet a few days ago at work and I was very disappointed. Very disappointed at all the things it could do that my ipad couldn't. As well as a touch screen there was a keyboard with kickstand, two usb c ports plus charging port, a proper file system and a form of face id! What witchery is this??? It could even run Fusion 360!
Yeah I know. Siri isn’t as good as an End Of Life product at Google. That is sad.
Yes, many. What’s your deal? I didn’t question your comment at all so whats wrong?
Also, my comment was sarcastic if you didn’t notice…
Seriously? I cannot think of anything worse. The result would be a huge mess. Also... imagine all of the potential security risks.
The good news is that if you don't like iOS and Apple phones, simply purchase what you believe to be a superior competitor phone and find happiness. Easy.
That is the worst idea of this comment section. Siri is not great, but iOS is still superior to Android in most ways. And all of those companies use their customer data to sell to other parties.
Especially security. Google doesn’t give a dam* about a users security, in fact they are all about using user data for their benefit.