Launched simultaneously with the iPhone 16, iOS 18 already brought with it a bunch of new features. Apple is taking a new step in its deployment schedule for this new version by unveiling the public beta version of iOS 18.2, which should theoretically advance Apple Intelligence. Previously reserved only for developers, this brings a relatively limited range of new tools.
AI what’s new?
The AI ecosystem designed by Apple is nothing really impressive yet, and the iOS 18.2 beta confirms this. So what are the new features brought by this new version of the OS? Well, nothing really revolutionary at the momenteven if the additions are nice.
The first, called Genmoji, is a personalized emoji generator. You can, for example, create an emoji representing your pet, a character from your imagination, or any other concept that comes to mind. Just describe what you want, and the AI will generate the corresponding image.
Then, Image Playground will allow you to generate images from a simple textual description (like DALL-E 2 does in ChatGPT). The tool is capable of creating visuals with quite varied styles: painting, drawing, digital art, etc.
The last one, Image Wand, integrated into the Notes application, is already a little more interesting: it can transform your scribbled sketches into more elaborate illustrations. Imagine that you are writing a note about your upcoming trip and you draw a small sketch of an airplane next to your destination. With Image Wand, all you have to do is select this sketch and the tool will automatically generate a more realistic image of this plane.
On iPhone 16, the button dedicated to the camera will now allow you to identify elements of your environment to search the weba bit like what is done at Samsung or Google with its Pixel range.
Drip distribution
Access to these features will be provided in successive waves, via a waiting list system. This measured approach not only prevents excesses – such as the creation of inappropriate emojis for example – but also ensures a gradual ramp-up of the service. Third-party developers have not been forgotten: they can now integrate these technologies into their applications, whether document managers, browsers or photo applications.
The real highlight of this update is the marriage between Siri and ChatGPT. Apple’s voice assistant is maturing, now offering text writing, image creation and conservation of exchange history for connected users. The alliance with OpenAI will therefore give a big facelift to Siri and the entire iOS ecosystem, which is not a bad thing.
This update also extends to other devices of the brandwith the simultaneous deployment of the beta versions of iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2 and tvOS 18.2. Apple is therefore (very slowly) catching up with the competition, but we will need much more than that to convince us of the power of Apple Intelligence.
- The iOS 18.2 beta brings some new AI features, like Genmoji and Image Playground.
- Siri becomes more efficient thanks to the integration of ChatGPT.
- Access to new functions is done gradually, with a waiting list system.
