Apple has rolled out the third beta update for iOS 18.4 just a week after the second beta. The new update brings several minor changes and bug fixes, taking us one step closer to its public release in April. Here’s a breakdown of everything new in iOS 18.4 Beta 3.
1. New Toggle to Turn Off Visual Intelligence
Ever since its introduction with iOS 18.2, Visual Intelligence was enabled by default and there was no way to turn it off. This changes with Beta 3 as Apple now offers a dedicated option to toggle off Visual Intelligence on supported models. It’s labeled as Press and Hold under Settings > Camera Control.
2. Genmoji Support in Third-Party Apps
Genmoji, the Apple Intelligence feature that allows you to generate custom emojis, was only accessible in the default Messages app and Mail apps on iPhones until now. However, with the new beta update, Apple has expanded the feature to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and various other third-party messaging apps.
3. New Toggle to Turn Off Back Tap Banners
The previous beta update for iOS 18.4 showed banners at the top of the screen whenever you triggered an action using Back Tap gestures. However, the new beta update gives you an option to turn these banners off. You can find the new toggle by navigating to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap.
4. Minor Ul Changes in Apple News+ Food Section
The Food section in the Apple News app, which shows various recipes, receives several UI changes with the newest beta update. The Cook button has now been updated with a new icon, which shows a bowl and a spatula. Plus, the spacing between the UI elements is also much better than the previous betas.
The visual changes don’t end there. The timers that appear in steps for recipes are now highlighted in yellow instead of grey, and the background color inside the articles is a little less dark and saturated.
5. Bug Fixes for Pre-Existing Issues
Many users claimed that they were unable to trigger the new Siri animations after installing the previous beta update. iOS 18.4 Beta 3 offers bug fixes to resolve this issue. Apart from that, the update also fixes Wi-Fi calling issues for customers in the US, along with some minor issues related to Writing Tools.
6. Other Minor Changes and Improvements in iOS 18.4 Beta 3
Besides the major updates, the third beta for iOS 18.4 includes several minor improvements. These include:
- Subscription and Payment option in the wallet app has been renamed to Preauthorized Payments.
- The Podcast app displays a splash screen that explains the new features, including the new widgets.
- The new emojis introduced with the last beta are now accessible without needing to search for them.
- The Launch Camera option in Camera Control settings now displays the name of the selected camera app or the action. Earlier, it used to simply say Camera App with no indication about the selected option.
- Apps can now use Ultra Wide Band ranging with Live Activities while they are running in the background.
- Despite being available in the App Store since the previous beta update, users were unable to download the newly introduced Vision Pro app on their iPhones. The new beta makes it available for downloading.