What new features we can expect for iPhone in iOS 18.4?

We can see the iOS 18.4 beta soon with more featured updates for the iPhone, with several new features. iOS 18.3 which was released last month had many updates with improvements but we can expect several changes related to Apple Intelligence in the upcoming one. As per Apple's website, iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. 

iOS 18.4 Expecetd Updates 

iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Siri is going to get several improvements based on Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.4. These updates are going to include on-screen awareness, deeper per-app controls, understanding the user's context, and more. Note that Apple Intelligence is possible only on an iPhone 15 Pro model or any iPhone 16 model.

Apple Intelligence in More Languages

Apple previously said that an April software update will add Apple Intelligence to more languages, and that probably means iOS 18.4. Other languages that will be added include English (India),

English (Singapore), Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese, but Apple said only some of those will be added in April, with the rest arriving throughout 2025.

Apple Intelligence is now available in localized English in the United States, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Cleaner News Summaries

News app notification summaries from Apple Intelligence are no longer available on iOS 18.3, after the feature sometimes provided summaries of news stories that were inaccurate. Apple further says that notification summaries will be enhanced in some future software update, so we shall see if that happens in iOS 18.4.

In iOS 18.3 and later, summarized notifications display the text of their summary in italics, so they're visually distinct from ordinary notifications. In future software updates, though hopefully news summaries will actually turn out to be more accurate for users.

New Emoji

All these new emoji versions were introduced by iOS 15.4, iOS 16.4, and iOS 17.4, so chances are that trend will continue with iOS 18.4.

Last year, the Unicode Consortium previewed new emoji that will come with iOS 18.4, new options including face with bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, splatter, and much more.

Default Map and Translation Apps in EU

In an October 2024 paper on the EU's Digital Markets Act, Apple said it would allow users in the EU of iPhones and iPads to select default navigation and translation apps. That would occur "spring 2025." The latter probably would fall during the window of iOS 18.4.

For instance, the users will have the option of selecting Google Maps, Waze, or some other app to be the default navigation app and not Apple Maps. Similarly, users will be able to select Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, or some other app to be the default translation app and not Apple's Translate app. This will be introduced in the new "Default Apps" section that has been part of the Settings app on iPhones since iOS 18.2.

Apple's website still states that robot vacuum support will be added to the Home app with an unspecified update for iOS 18. This will allow you to control some of the most important functions of your robot vacuum within the Home app, as well as through Siri voice commands when available.

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