Apple's Upcoming iOS 18.4: New Features and Enhancements to Siri

Apple is gearing up for the release of iOS 18.4 in April, with exciting updates and enhancements expected for users. While the beta testing phase for this update hasn't yet begun, several key features have already been teased by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg. Here’s a look at what’s coming in iOS 18.4:

Major Siri Enhancements: Apple Intelligence Takes Center Stage

One of the biggest highlights of iOS 18.4 will be the major improvements to Siri, Apple's voice assistant. These updates are set to bring Siri closer to becoming a part of the broader Apple Intelligence ecosystem. The three key enhancements that users can expect are:

Personal Context: Siri will become more attuned to individual users, understanding personal preferences and habits to provide a more tailored experience.
On-Screen Awareness: Siri will gain the ability to better understand the context of on-screen content, allowing it to respond more accurately to user queries and actions.
Application Interactions: The new update will allow Siri to interact with third-party applications, making it a more capable assistant that can perform tasks beyond the built-in Apple apps.

These advancements aim to create a more intuitive and intelligent Siri that can better serve users by understanding their needs and context.

Expanded Language Support for Apple Intelligence

In addition to Siri improvements, iOS 18.4 will continue Apple’s push toward expanding the capabilities of Apple Intelligence. Starting in April 2025, Apple will significantly expand the language support for Apple Intelligence, including Siri and other AI-driven features. Although specific languages have not been confirmed, it is expected that support will include:

Chinese
English (India)
English (Singapore)
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Spanish
Vietnamese

This move is part of Apple's ongoing efforts to make its devices and AI ecosystem more accessible to a global audience.

New Emojis Expected with iOS 18.4

As part of its spring iOS updates, Apple is expected to introduce a fresh batch of emojis, continuing its tradition of adding new characters in every major update. The Unicode Consortium has already unveiled the upcoming emoji designs, and users can expect a fun selection of new emojis to enhance their messaging experience.

iOS 18.3: A Minor Update with Key Fixes

Before iOS 18.4 lands, Apple will release iOS 18.3, which is expected to be rolled out to the public next week. The update, which has been in beta testing since mid-December, is relatively minor but includes several notable features, adjustments, and bug fixes. Notably, Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news apps will not be available in iOS 18.3 due to issues with accurately summarizing certain articles.

One of the visual changes in iOS 18.3 will be the addition of italicized text in notification summaries. This subtle change will help users better differentiate between standard notifications and summary notifications. Apple has also announced that future iOS updates will improve the accuracy of news article summaries in notification features.

What’s Next for iOS

With iOS 18.4 and future updates on the horizon, Apple is continuing to enhance the functionality of its devices and the overall user experience. As Siri becomes smarter and more integrated with Apple’s ecosystem, and as new languages and emojis are added, the iOS platform is poised to offer an even more intuitive, global, and personalized experience for its users.

Stay tuned for more details on iOS 18.4 as the release date approaches!

iOS 18.4 features