Apple has released the first public beta of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, bringing new AI features under the Apple Intelligence umbrella. Some of the more prominent features are:
Image Playground lets users create images based on text descriptions. The app is integrated into various native applications such as Messages, Notes, and Freeform. Image Playground produces animation and illustration-style images rather than photorealistic ones, as per MacRumors.
iOS 18.2 also brings Genmoji, a feature that enables users to create customizable emoji characters based on descriptions or phrases, similar to Image Playground. Users can design Genmojis that resemble their contacts using data from the People album in Photos.
The update also improves Siri’s capabilities by integrating ChatGPT. When Siri faces a query it cannot answer, it can now use ChatGPT to provide a response with user permission.
For iPhone 16 users, iOS 18.2 brings Visual Intelligence, a feature that gives information about the user’s surroundings using the camera. It can offer restaurant reviews, perform web searches for objects, and includes text-related functions such as reading aloud and summarizing.
Public beta testers can access these updates through the Settings app after opting into the beta program via Apple’s website.
BUT
Apple has implemented a waitlist system for some features, including Genmoji, Image Playground, and Image Wand.
These AI features require compatible devices capable of running Apple Intelligence.
The stable version of iOS 18.2 is expected to launch in early December this year after the beta testing period.