iOS 18.2 RC 2: Get Ready For More Than Just AI Features on Your iPhone

Apple launched the second iOS 18.2 launch candidate to builders and beta testers on Dec. 9. The tech big launched the RC greater than a month after the corporate launched iOS 18.1 to most of the people. Whereas iOS 18.1 introduced a couple of new options and fixes to all iPhones, and some Apple Intelligence options to others, the RC brings extra AI options to some builders and beta testers. There are additionally a couple of new options and upgrades within the RC that are not part of Apple Intelligence, so everybody can entry them. 

Learn extra: An Skilled’s Information to iOS 18

Since that is nonetheless a beta, I like to recommend downloading it on one thing apart from your main gadget. As a result of this is not the ultimate model of iOS 18.2, the replace is likely to be buggy and battery life could also be quick, so it is best to maintain these troubles on a secondary gadget.

Observe that the RC shouldn’t be the ultimate model of iOS 18.2, so there may very well be extra options to land in your iPhone when iOS 18.2 is launched. There isn’t any phrase on when Apple will launch iOS 18.2 to the general public, however Apple often releases updates to most of the people a couple of week or so after it releases an RC.

Listed below are among the options that might land in your iPhone with iOS 18.2 quickly. Only a reminder that solely builders and beta testers who’ve an iPhone 15 Professional, Professional Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can entry the AI options for now. When you’ve got another iPhone, you will not have entry to these options.

Discover My enhancements

The Discover My app can be utilized to find issues like your AirPods and MacBook, and with the iOS 18.2 RC, Apple makes it straightforward for everybody to get assist discovering misplaced objects. Within the RC, in the event you go into Discover My > Objects and faucet one among your objects, you’ve two new choices: Share Merchandise Location and Present Contact Information. 

If you happen to allow Share Merchandise Location, Discover My will create a hyperlink you could share with others to allow them to notify you in the event that they discover your misplaced or lacking merchandise. This may very well be particularly useful as we head into the vacations as extra individuals are touring and dropping baggage at airports or leaving objects behind. These hyperlinks expire after one week, although, which might not be sufficient time to search out them.

If you happen to allow Present Contact Information, others can hook up with misplaced objects to allow them to discover methods to contact you and produce your merchandise again to you. 

New Mail classes

The Mail app on each iPhone additionally will get an improve within the iOS 18.2 RC. Apple introduced in September that Mail would quickly have the ability to kind emails to a number of classes to maintain your essential emails in a single place and advertisements or promotions in one other, like Gmail and Outlook do. The brand new structure retains issues principally tidy, however Mail does not at all times get it proper. For instance, I discovered an e mail for digital tickets I beforehand ordered within the Promotions class somewhat than the Main class.

You do not have to make use of the brand new structure in the event you do not wish to. To alter your Mail structure again, go into Mail, faucet the three dots (…) within the high proper nook and faucet Record View. 

Quantity slider is again in your lock display screen

Apple beforehand eliminated the amount slider on the iPhone’s lock display screen. You would nonetheless use the amount buttons on the aspect of your iPhone, nevertheless it wasn’t as exact because the slider. With the iOS 18.2 RC, although, you’ll be able to add the slider again to your lock display screen. 

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio and Visible and faucet the toggle subsequent to At all times Present Quantity Management. Now, whether or not you are listening to a podcast or music from one among Apple’s apps or a third-party app the amount slider can be current in your lock display screen.

iPhone speaker quantity restrict

When you’ve got children who prefer to play video games or watch movies on their iPhones they usually set the music to full blast, that might injury their gadget’s audio system — to not point out it may very well be annoying to you. With the iOS 18.2 RC, you’ll be able to set a most quantity restrict in your or your child’s iPhone. 

To set a restrict go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Quantity Restrict and faucet the toggle subsequent to Restrict Most Quantity. A scale will seem and you may choose what you need the restrict to be. Apple does be aware that this restrict does not apply to issues like telephone calls, FaceTime calls, emergency calls or Discover My sounds.

Genmoji

There are over 3,000 emoji you need to use, however typically you’ll be able to’t discover the one you really need. Genmoji is right here to assist. With the Apple Intelligence Genmoji characteristic, you’ll be able to describe the emoji you are searching for and iPhones with Apple Intelligence will try and generate a brand new emoji based mostly in your description. 

To make use of Genmoji, go right into a message and faucet the emoji keyboard within the backside left nook of your keyboard. Then, kind the emoji you are searching for into the search bar. If there is not an emoji that matches your description, faucet Create New Emoji just under the search bar. Your iPhone will then present you a couple of examples of what it got here up with based mostly in your description. You may swipe via the emoji, and if you discover a Genmoji you want, faucet Add within the high proper nook to completely add that new emoji to your keyboard.

Visible Intelligence

That is Apple’s reply to Google Lens. Visible Intelligence is an Apple Intelligence characteristic that allows you to level your digital camera at one thing, like a canine, and your iPhone will then use the photograph to look on-line that can assist you establish it. The characteristic may also be used to detect telephone numbers to create contacts, scan QR codes and translate languages.

You can even combine this characteristic with ChatGPT that can assist you establish objects, in addition to that can assist you higher perceive what’s on a web page or display screen. It is essential to notice that you do not want a ChatGPT account to make use of the combination.

This characteristic can also be solely out there on the iPhone 16 lineup because it makes use of the collection’ new digital camera management side-button. When you’ve got one of many new iPhones, lengthy press the brand new side-button the place the SIM card tray was once to rapidly pull up Visible Intelligence. 

“The digital camera management offers on the spot, easy accessibility to the digital camera with only a click on. It lets you alter numerous digital camera options just by sliding your finger,” Apple stated at its Glowtime occasion in September. “Its handy design ensures it is at all times inside attain.”

Picture Playground

This Apple Intelligence characteristic takes Genmoji one step additional and allows you to create entire photographs based mostly on textual content prompts referred to as Picture Playground. This characteristic is a standalone app and it may also be present in Message by tapping the plus (+) button to the left of your textual content field. 

Picture Playground is crammed with immediate options, themes, locations and extra to get you began. You may enter a number of prompts to make the picture extra particular, however as soon as I entered seven prompts a popup appeared telling me to make use of fewer. There’s additionally an possibility to alter the artwork fashion from the default cartoony 3D photographs to illustrations. 

If you wish to put your self, family and friends or your pet into one among these photographs, you’ll be able to. Faucet the plus (+) signal within the backside proper nook after which faucet both Select Picture or Take Picture. You may nonetheless have to decide on or enter a immediate along with the photograph.

The characteristic can create some easy photographs, and it may be unintentionally humorous with how bizarre different photographs are. In a single occasion, I chosen the prompts astronaut, artist and lighthouse. One of many outcomes confirmed what I can solely describe as a half-stronaut propped up on an easel surrounded by frames reverse one other easel with a drawing of a lighthouse on it. Stellar work.

You can even draw a sketch in Notes, choose your sketch and use it with Visible Playground. That means you’ll be able to both clear up your sketch, or in the event you’re not an artist — like myself — you need to use the characteristic to flesh out your sketch. 

Learn extra: Apple Intelligence’s New Notification Abstract Function Can Be Absurdly Fallacious

Glowing Siri and ChatGPT

Apple introduced at WWDC in Might that its digital assistant Siri was quickly coming into a “new period” because of Apple Intelligence enhancements. With the iOS 18.2 RC, Apple is bringing most of these enhancements to some iPhones.

With Apple Intelligence, as an alternative of seeing a emblem pop up in your display screen if you activate Siri, you may see a glowing mild round your display screen. You need to use Siri such as you usually would, and you can even use ChatGPT on your queries. 

I requested Siri to make use of ChatGPT to point out me brew a cup of espresso, and it wrote out a seven-step course of on make drip espresso in a typical brewer. The directions had been a bit of wonky, telling me to measure out my water and occasional grounds earlier than grinding my espresso beans. There’s a disclaimer on the backside of those ChatGPT requests that reads, “Examine essential data for errors.”

You can even copy what Siri and ChatGPT present you by tapping a button within the high proper nook of the window that reveals two items of paper. Then, you’ll be able to paste this in a message or a be aware if you’d like — however once more, it is best to confirm the main points of your request.

Require Display screen On digital camera toggle

When you’ve got any telephones from the iPhone 16 lineup, you’ve the Digicam Management button. You must press this twice to open your digital camera in case your display screen is asleep or inactive, however Apple launched a brand new toggle within the iOS 18.2 RC as a way to press the Digicam Management as soon as to open your digital camera even when your display screen is off.

To do that, go to Settings > Show & Brightness and faucet the toggle subsequent to Require Display screen On to disable the characteristic. Now in the event you press the Digicam Management whereas your display screen is off, your iPhone will open your Digicam with no second press. Nonetheless, it may additionally result in by chance opening your digital camera extra typically. 

Listed below are the total launch notes for the iOS 18.2 RC.

Apple Intelligence (All iPhone 16 fashions, iPhone 15 Professional, iPhone 15 Professional Max)

1. Picture Playground

• A brand new app that allows you to use ideas, descriptions, and other people out of your photograph library to create enjoyable, playful photographs in a number of kinds.
• Swipe via previews to select from as you add ideas to your playground.
• Select from animation and illustration kinds when creating your picture.
• Create photographs in Messages and Freeform, in addition to third-party apps.
• Photographs are synced in your Picture Playground library throughout all of your units with iCloud.

2. Genmoji

• Genmoji lets you create a customized emoji proper from the keyboard.
• Genmoji are synced in your sticker drawer throughout all of your units with iCloud.

3. ChatGPT help

• ChatGPT from OpenAl will be accessed proper from Siri or Writing Software.
• Compose in Writing Instruments lets you create one thing from scratch with ChatGPT.
• Siri can faucet into ChatGPT when related to supply you a solution.
• A ChatGPT account shouldn’t be required and your requests can be nameless and will not be used to coach OpenAl’s fashions.
• Sign up with ChatGPT to entry your account advantages, and requests can be lined by OpenAl’s information insurance policies.

4. Picture Wand turns sketches and handwritten or typed notes into photographs in Notes.

• Describe your change in Writing Instruments lets you recommend how you need one thing rewritten, for instance as a poem.

Digicam Management (iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Professional, iPhone 16 Professional Max)

• Visible Intelligence with Digicam Management helps you immediately study locations or work together with data just by pointing your iPhone on the object, with the choice to faucet into Google Search or ChatGPT.
• Digicam Management two-stage shutter helps you to lock focus and publicity in Digicam when mild urgent the Digicam Management.

Mail

• Mail Categorization kinds your messages that can assist you prioritize crucial messages.
• Digest view teams the entire messages from one sender right into a single bundle for straightforward shopping.

Images

• Video viewing enhancements, together with the power to wash frame-by-frame and a setting to show off auto-looping video playback.
• Enhancements when navigating Collections views, together with the power to swipe proper to return to the earlier view.
• Not too long ago Seen and Not too long ago Shared album historical past will be cleared.
• Favorites album seems within the Utilities assortment along with Pinned Collections.

Safari

• New background photographs to customise your Safari Begin Web page.
• Import and Export lets you export your shopping information from Safari and import shopping information from one other app into Safari.
• HTTPS Precedence upgrades URLs to HTTPS each time potential.
• File Obtain Dwell Exercise reveals the progress of a file obtain within the Dynamic Island and on your property display screen.

This replace additionally contains the next enhancements and bug fixes:

• Voice Memos helps layered recording, letting you add vocals over an current music thought with out the necessity for headphones — then import your two-track tasks immediately into Logic Professional (iPhone 16 Professional, iPhone 16 Professional Max).
• Share Merchandise Location in Discover My helps you find and get well misplaced objects by simply and securely sharing the situation of an AirTag or Discover My community accent with trusted third events, equivalent to airways.
• Pure language search in Apple Music and Apple TV app helps you to describe what you are searching for utilizing any mixture of classes like genres, moods, actors, a long time, and extra.
• Favourite Classes in Podcasts lets you select your favourite classes and get related present suggestions you could simply entry in your Library.
• Customized Search web page in Podcasts highlights probably the most related classes and editorially curated collections tailor-made to you.
• Sudoku for Information Plus Puzzles offered in three problem ranges and out there for Information Plus subscribers.
• Assist for the Listening to Check characteristic on AirPods Professional 2 in Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and the UK.
• Assist for the Listening to Support characteristic on AirPods Professional 2 in United Arab Emirates.
• Pre-market worth quotes in Shares helps you to observe NASDAQ and NYSE tickers previous to market open.
• Fixes a difficulty the place not too long ago captured pictures don’t seem instantly within the All Images grid.
• Fixes a difficulty the place Evening mode pictures in Digicam may seem degraded when capturing lengthy exposures (iPhone 16 Professional, iPhone 16 Professional Max).

Some options might not be out there for all areas or on all Apple units. For data on the safety content material of Apple software program updates, please go to this web site:

https://help.apple.com/100100

These are a couple of of the brand new options builders and public beta testers can attempt with the iOS 18.2 RC. As of now, there is not any phrase on when Apple will launch iOS 18.2 to most of the people, however Apple stated in October that extra Apple Intelligence options will arrive this month.

For extra on iOS, you’ll be able to try my evaluate of iOS 18, what to find out about iOS 18.1 and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.