Apple released its first public beta for iOS 18.4 on February 24, which released iOS 18.3 to the public for more than a month. While the update brings some important fixes to all iPhones, the latest beta brings some new features to developers and public beta testers such as priority notifications.
Read more: Expert Guide for iOS 18
Since this is a beta, I recommend downloading it only on something other than the main device. Since this is not the final version of iOS 18.4, the update may be malfunctioning and the battery life may be short, so it is better to keep these hassles on the auxiliary device.
Note that Beta is not the final version of iOS 18.4, so there may be more features to land on iPhone when iOS 18.4 is released. In a press release sent to CNET, Apple noted that iOS 18.4 will be released to the public in April, but there is no news on the exact date.
This is something that will soon be available to land on iPhone using iOS 18.4. Just remind you that only developers and Beta testers with the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max or iPhone 16 lineup will now have access to the Apple Intelligence feature. If you have other iPhones, you won't be able to access these features.
Priority notifications for Apple Intelligence
Developers and beta testers with Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones will get a new feature called priority notifications for iOS 18.4 Beta.
“Apple Intelligence can show you notifications that may be important in separate sections of the lock screen, so you can catch up on what you might have missed,” Apple wrote in its feature description. “You can still swipe up to see all notifications .”
I closed the priority notifications by default after downloading the update, but you can go to Settings > Notifications > Priority Notifications And tap the toggle next to determine the priority of the notification.
Sketch pattern in the playground
Are the astronauts reaching out? Where is their left hand?
The Image Playground is Apple Intelligence Image Generator, and in iOS 18.4 Beta, Apple brought an Art Nouveau style to the app called Sketch. The new art style creates a full color image that looks like a sketch you might see in someone’s notebook. But there are still many flaws in these photos.
The Image Playground had two artistic styles before this update, one called animation – created 3D images and the other called illustration – made cartoon images.
Control Center Ambient Music
If you want to play music in the background, do housework or relax while working, you can now easily access ambient music in the control center of your iPhone via iOS 18.4 Beta.
To find these controls, swipe from the upper right corner of the screen to open the Control Center and click the Add sign (+) Log in at the upper left corner of the screen and click Add controls Then you should see a new control section called Ambient Music. There are four ambient music options: sleep, chills, productivity, and well-being. Click one (or all) of these controls to add them to your Control Center. Once the control enters your control center, click on a control and it will start playing music.
You can also change the playlist for each control. To do this, go to your control center and click the add sign (+) Log in at the upper left corner of the screen, click on the ambient sound control you want to edit, and then click on the right side of the playlist Playlist. For example, if you are in chill control, the default playlist is laidback lo-fi. After tapping the playlist, you will see more options like soft pianos, ambient outcroppings, and even options that stand out from the library. Click on the playlist you want and assign it to the control.
Now there is no need to find the playlist to get to the present.
I like my iPhone additions because it's always hard for me to pick playlists on the workday. As I waited for the coffee to start, attack productivity controls made it easy to play music, and I didn’t want to make music decisions. However, I do want all of these controls to be split into one control or widget.
Considering that your phone can already be transformed into a white noise machine with background sound, this is also a fun addition to your iPhone. It feels like Apple is trying to make the iPhone the first device you need some music to help you fall asleep or get more productive, and maybe icing on the cake to offer other services that offer similar playlists, such as Spotify or YouTube.
Recipes in Apple News
Apple News Plus costs $12 per month, giving you access to major publications, puzzles and upcoming articles – recipes.
In iOS 18.4 beta, subscribers can access a new section of Apple News, called Food, which contains recipes from publications such as food and wine, food, and more. Subscribers can save recipes to their device to access their device later, and the new Cook mode will show instructions on full screen so you can easily follow recipes in the kitchen.
I'll have the whole “cinnamon toast” cake sticks on the pan.
The new food section also offers stories about restaurants, healthy eating tips, and more, but to be honest, access to all of these recipes is a great addition. Apple's inclusion of this feature may be the tech giant's attempt to undertake the cooking and recipe parts of other publications.
For example, the New York Times launched its cooking area in 2014, and the Times said it had nearly 600,000 cooking users by 2020. This section is not included in the basic subscription plan for this publication, so you must pay an additional $6 a month or subscribe to a more expensive plan to access this section.
However, Apple does not charge an additional fee for accessing recipes like Time. This makes the Apple News Plus subscription more valuable to home cooks, or for anyone trying to become a better cook at no extra cost.
More default application changes
When Apple released iOS 18.2 in December, this update lets you change default apps such as messaging and calling. With iOS 18.4 Beta, Apple has let some people change more default apps.
A new default application category is Translation. With Beta, you can change the default translation app for iPhone – Apple Translate to another third-party app, such as Google Translate.
According to 9to5mac, people in the EU can also change their default navigation app. Apple Maps is the default for this category, but people in the EU can change it to another app like Waze.
Podcast Changes
You can set the podcast widget to play the plot of your favorite show.
iOS 18.4 Beta also brings some new updates to the podcast app. If you want to add a podcast widget to your home screen, there are now more options, including shows and libraries. Selecting the show Widget will play episodes from the specific show you are following, and the Selecting the Library widget will play episodes from the list you specify in the library.
There are two new settings in the podcast in the latest beta, Podcast Settings and Notification Settings. You can find these by opening the podcast app and clicking on the profile image in the upper right corner of the screen. However, no matter how many times you press, these new settings won't do anything in this beta, so hopefully Apple will add features in future updates.
Siri, Apple Intelligence and iPhone apps
Who would have thought that the phone could turn on the phone?
With iOS 18.4 Beta, Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can use Siri to learn more about first-party apps on iPhone. To access this, go to an app like message, mail, or settings and tap twice at the bottom of the screen to access Siri's type. Siri will then show you some suggestions based on your app.
So if you make a call, Siri will say “What can I do on the phone?” Click this suggestion and you will get a list of actions that you can do in the app, such as making a call, FaceTime Call, or oddly opening your phone. Thanks Siri, I never thought I could turn on the phone once I turned it on.
Apple Information is here to find more people
One of the barriers to accessing Apple Intelligence is having a compatible iPhone, but for many people with the right devices, these features are still turned off. But this will change with iOS 18.4.
Apple Online wrote that Apple Intelligence will be available in more languages, including Spanish, French and Japanese, when iOS 18.4 was released in April. The tech giant also wrote that people in the EU can also visit Apple Intelligence for the first time, or through the upcoming update.
These are some new features among developers, and public beta testers can try out the first public beta for iOS 18.4. There may be more beta before the OS is released to the public, so Apple has plenty of time to change these features.
For more information about iOS 18, here’s what you need to know about iOS 18.3.1 and iOS 18.3. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
Watch the following: Apple Vision Pro finally gets Apple Intelligence and iPhone apps
