The next update for our iPhone is coming fast. The first beta of iOS 18.4 is already available, bringing a host of new features. These changes will be especially noticeable in Europe, where we’ll finally have access to Apple Intelligence and everything that comes with it. While this is still a beta, meaning features and functionalities might change, let’s go over everything we expect to see when iOS 18.4 officially launches this coming April.
Apple Intelligence arrives in Europe, learns new languages, and organizes our notifications
One of the biggest highlights of iOS 18.4 is the arrival of Apple Intelligence in Europe, where it was previously unavailable due to regulatory reasons. Just as important is its expanded language support. With this update, Apple’s AI system is now available in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Additionally, two new English versions have been added for users in Singapore and India.
Apple has also introduced a new image style in Image Playground: Sketch. Until now, the available options were Animation and Illustration, but with Sketch, we can create images with a more hand-drawn, sketch-like finish.
Building on Apple Intelligence, another exciting addition in iOS 18.4 is the arrival of Priority Notifications. This feature allows us to see the notifications that truly matter to us first. Enabling it is as simple as going to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications, where we can customize which types of alerts should be highlighted.
Apple News+ Food, Siri improvements, Apple Maps, and Apple Music
Another notable addition is a new recipes section in Apple News+, called Apple News+ Food. This section features tens of thousands of recipes, restaurant stories, and cooking tips curated from the world’s top food publications.
Apple continues refining Siri, and this version introduces two new Australian voices. Additionally, Apple Maps now lets us select a preferred language, a particularly useful feature for those living in multilingual regions or frequent travelers.
As for Apple Music, iOS 18.4 introduces new ambient music options, accessible from the Control Center. The new categories include Sleep, Relaxation, Productivity, and Well-being, each offering automatically curated playlists within their respective themes.
CarPlay has also been improved, with vehicles featuring larger screens now displaying a third row of icons on the home screen.
Small changes that make a difference
Beyond the major updates, Apple has also fine-tuned several smaller details in iOS 18.4 to enhance the user experience:
- Mail content categorization is now available on iPads with iPadOS 18.4.
- Privacy indicators for microphone and camera usage have been relocated and are now more visible with a black background.
- The Genmoji icon on the keyboard now displays its full name, making it easier to spot.
- The mobile data selector in Control Center now shows signal strength instead of just a static icon.
- The Type to Siri feature now hides the keyboard during responses, providing more screen space for Siri’s replies.
- In the Passwords app, you can now see how much time is left before a two-factor authentication code expires.
- New widgets are available for the Podcasts app.
- Safari now allows users to view a website’s security certificates.
- In an upcoming beta, a dedicated app for Vision Pro will be introduced.
With all these updates, iOS 18.4 is shaping up to be a significant release. The expansion of Apple Intelligence, improvements in notification management, Apple Music, Apple Maps, and much more add to a list that might still hold surprises as the beta cycle progresses. One thing is clear—come April, with just the tap of a button, our iPhones will be better than ever.
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