iOS 18.2 for iPhone With Image Playground and More Apple Intelligence Features Rolls Out: What’s New

Apple rolled out the iOS 18.2 update for iPhone globally on Wednesday. It arrives a day after the release of iOS 18.2 Release Candidate (RC) 2, expanding the set of Apple Intelligence features that the Cupertino-based technology giant previously introduced. Its latest update brings Image Playground, Genmoji, and ChatGPT integration. It also bundles a new visual lookup feature exclusive to the iPhone 16 series while expanding the availability of Apple's artificial intelligence (AI) suite to more languages.

iOS 18.2 Compatible Models

Apple says all iPhone models compatible with the initial iOS 18 update are eligible to download the latest iOS 18.2 update. However, the Apple Intelligence features are limited to the iPhone 16 lineup, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

It is being expanded to more English-speaking locales such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. The AI suite is available globally on the iPhone except for China and the EU, but it will introduced in the latter starting April next year.

iOS 18.2 Update Features

In a newsroom post, Apple detailed the new features arriving on the iPhone with the iOS 18.2 update. One of the highlights is Image Playground — a new standalone app that bundles three capabilities and brings more ways for users to express themselves better. It leverages generative AI to generate images in distinct styles such as animation or illustration, based on textual prompts. Then there's Genmoji, which has similar functionality but works for emojis. The created images and emojis can be shared in apps such as Messages, Notes, and Keynote, as per Apple.

Meanwhile, Image Wand transforms a rough sketch into a related image in the Notes app, similar to Samsung's AI-powered Sketch to Image feature. It can also create an image in the app based on the handwritten or typed text using on-device generative AI models.

While Apple introduced Writing Tools with iOS 18.1 in October, the latest iOS 18.2 update expands their capabilities. It brings a new Describe Your Change option which enables users to specify the changes they'd like, such as making it more dynamic or rewrite it in the form of a poem. It joins the existing Rewrite, Proofread, and Summarise tools and is available system-wide and in third-party apps.

iPhone 16 series users can now take advantage of the new Visual Intelligence feature. Apple says it is a visual lookup tool which helps them learn about objects and places instantly, leveraging the new Camera Control button. It can summarise and copy text, translate it between languages, and detect phone numbers or email addresses with the option to add to contacts. It also allows them to search Google for a product they like, solve a math equation, or simply ask ChatGPT to provide more information.

And on a related note, ChatGPT comes to the iPhone. Siri, which is Apple's voice assistant, can now leverage the capabilities of OpenAI's AI chatbot to provide users with more in-depth responses to queries and document and image-understanding capabilities. Siri can suggest a user access to ChatGPT for certain requests and provide direct answers. Further, it can also generate content using native writing tools. Apple says this feature requires optional sign-in, and iPhone users with a paid ChatGPT account can use their account for access to more powerful OpenAI models.

The company emphasises that OpenAI does not store requests, nor does it use the data for training its models. It also obscures their IP addresses to prevent sessions from being linked together.

What's Ahead

Apple Intelligence capabilities will be expanded further in the coming months, as per Apple. Siri will get contextual awareness to deliver tailored responses. It is also claimed to be able to have on-screen awareness with new actions across Apple and third-party apps. Other expected features include Priority Notifications and a new sketch style for Image Playground.