Apple’s upcoming iOS 18.4 update is drawing attention due to the new features it promises to bring, particularly in the realm of Apple Intelligence. Although some capabilities, such as the anticipated Siri enhancements, have been delayed, there are still plenty of exciting additions that will enhance the user experience. From Priority Notifications to a new creative style in the Image Playground app, here’s everything you can expect from iOS 18.4 when it arrives in April.
Priority Notifications: A Smarter Way to Stay Organized
One of the standout features in iOS 18.4 is Priority Notifications, a feature that Apple first introduced at the 2024 WWDC. This feature uses Apple Intelligence to assess your incoming notifications and determine which ones are the most urgent based on context, time, and relevance.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, we all experience a flood of notifications, from social media updates to reminders about appointments, deliveries, and other time-sensitive matters. With Priority Notifications, Apple aims to cut through the noise and help users focus on what truly matters at any given moment.
How Does Priority Notifications Work?
Once activated, Priority Notifications will prioritize the most important notifications by placing them at the top of your Lock Screen in a dedicated box, making them impossible to miss. For example, if you’ve ordered food and it’s close to arriving, this notification will be highlighted to ensure it stands out. Similarly, if you’ve set an alarm or scheduled an appointment, the notification will be given top billing, ensuring you don’t overlook it amidst other less pressing alerts.
Apple uses a combination of contextual analysis and time-sensitive factors to determine which notifications should take priority. This can be incredibly useful for anyone who’s juggling multiple tasks throughout the day and needs a reliable way to keep track of important updates.
How to Enable Priority Notifications
To enable Priority Notifications, users need to navigate to the Settings menu. From there, go to Notifications and then toggle on the Prioritize Notifications option. Once activated, this feature will automatically organize notifications by urgency, but you can still access all of your other notifications by swiping through them.
While this feature is optional, it’s an incredibly useful tool for anyone who needs a little extra help in managing their notifications. Whether it’s a package delivery or a reminder about an important task, Priority Notifications ensures that critical information doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
The Impact on Daily Life
Priority Notifications is a prime example of how Apple is using its growing suite of intelligent features to improve user productivity and efficiency. By placing the most relevant notifications front and center, Apple helps ensure users stay informed without feeling overwhelmed by nonessential alerts.
This addition speaks to a larger trend in Apple’s development of smarter, context-aware technologies that adapt to users’ needs in real time. Whether it’s through Siri or background processes that streamline app performance, Apple is building an ecosystem designed to help users stay organized and in control of their digital lives.
Image Playground: A Creative Leap Forward
For those who enjoy creating and experimenting with digital images, the Image Playground app is an exciting new addition in iOS 18.4. Initially, Image Playground only offered two styles—Animation and Illustration—for creating images. However, with the new update, Apple has introduced a third style: Sketch.
What’s New with the Sketch Style?
The Sketch style in Image Playground offers a highly detailed and hand-drawn aesthetic, a sharp contrast to the other two available styles. Apple describes it as a “highly detailed and academic” style, producing beautiful drawings that evoke a sense of artistry and sophistication. For those who enjoy sketching or appreciate the beauty of traditional art forms, this new style will be a welcome addition to their creative toolkit.
In contrast, the Animation style is more playful and whimsical, with 3D cartoon-like images that have a fun and lively appearance. The Illustration style, on the other hand, is simpler and more graphic, with bold colors and strong outlines designed to create clean, striking images.
How to Use the New Sketch Style
Using the Sketch style is easy. After opening Image Playground, users can select from three different styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. The new style immediately transforms your image into a finely drawn, academic-looking sketch, offering a totally different aesthetic from the previously available options. The app has been designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible to both seasoned creatives and casual users alike.
The addition of the Sketch style further enhances Image Playground’s versatility. It allows users to experiment with different artistic techniques and express their creativity in ways that were not possible before. Whether you’re making artwork for a personal project or just having fun exploring new design styles, the update offers a range of possibilities that cater to different tastes and preferences.
A Powerful Tool for Creatives
Image Playground is part of Apple’s broader initiative to empower users with creative tools that are both powerful and accessible. By offering multiple image creation styles, Apple is making it easier for anyone to turn their ideas into reality, regardless of their artistic experience. The Sketch style is particularly exciting for users who appreciate the finer details of art and want to create more intricate, sophisticated pieces.
This update could also appeal to professionals who need to create quick, polished sketches or illustrations for projects, as well as hobbyists who enjoy experimenting with digital art. With its simple interface and new creative options, Image Playground continues to be a standout app in Apple’s suite of tools for artists and designers.
New Language Support: Expanding Accessibility
Another notable feature in iOS 18.4 is the expansion of Apple Intelligence’s language support. This update introduces new languages, making Apple’s intelligent features more accessible to a wider global audience.
Languages Included in iOS 18.4
iOS 18.4 will support a variety of new languages, including:
- French
- German
- Italian
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Spanish
- Japanese
- Korean
- Simplified Chinese
- Localized English for Singapore and India
By offering additional language support, Apple continues to ensure that its products and services can be used by people around the world. This expansion helps make Apple’s ecosystem more inclusive, enabling non-English speakers to enjoy the benefits of features like Priority Notifications, Apple Intelligence, and Siri in their native languages.
A Step Toward Global Accessibility
For Apple, expanding language support is an important step in ensuring that its devices are accessible to a global audience. With the rise of international users, offering more language options is crucial for fostering greater inclusivity. This is especially important for Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, which can now better understand and respond to users in a variety of languages.
Apple’s continued investment in expanding language support reflects the company’s commitment to making its products and services more accessible to users in diverse regions. Whether you’re in Europe, Asia, or the Americas, iOS 18.4 will help bridge the gap by offering a more localized experience.
Delayed Siri Features: What’s Next?
Although iOS 18.4 introduces several new features, it was originally expected to include significant updates to Siri, Apple’s voice assistant. These updates were intended to expand Siri’s capabilities and integrate more Apple Intelligence features into the virtual assistant.
However, Apple decided to delay these changes to continue testing and refining the new features. As a result, users will likely have to wait until a future iOS 18.5 update or even iOS 19 for the anticipated Siri enhancements.
Why the Delay?
It’s not uncommon for Apple to delay features in order to ensure they meet the company’s high standards of performance and reliability. Siri is a complex system, and any changes to its functionality need to be thoroughly tested to avoid bugs or glitches that could negatively impact the user experience.
While the delay is disappointing for some, it’s likely that Apple is taking the necessary time to fine-tune Siri’s abilities and ensure that the new features will work seamlessly once they’re released. Apple has a history of rolling out major updates gradually, and it seems the company is continuing this approach with iOS 18.
Looking Ahead to Future Updates
While the delayed Siri features won’t appear in iOS 18.4, they could be included in the iOS 18.5 update, which is expected later this year. Apple could also opt to introduce these features in iOS 19, which may arrive in the fall.
Given that Apple often releases features gradually, it’s possible that we could see Siri’s intelligence capabilities evolve over time, with updates rolled out in multiple stages. Users can likely expect continued improvements to Siri’s ability to understand natural language, respond more accurately to commands, and integrate with other Apple services in innovative ways.
The iOS 18.4 Rollout: When Can You Expect the Update?
The iOS 18.4 update is currently in beta testing, with developers and public beta testers having access to early versions of the software. The update is expected to go through multiple beta stages throughout March, with a final release planned for early April.
Beta Testing and Feedback
Beta testing is an important part of Apple’s development process, as it allows users to provide feedback and report any issues they encounter. The feedback gathered during the beta period will help Apple make any final adjustments before the public release.
As with all major iOS updates, Apple encourages users to be cautious when installing beta versions of the software, as there may be bugs or other issues that have not yet been resolved. Once the update is released to the general public, it will be available for download via the Settings app under Software Update.
What to Expect After the Update
Once iOS 18.4 is available to the public, users can expect to see a smooth and seamless installation process, with the update typically taking only a few minutes to complete. After installation, users will be able to start using the new features right away, including Priority Notifications, the Image Playground update, and the expanded language support.
For those who are particularly excited about the delayed Siri features, there’s hope that they may be included in a future iOS 18.5 update or in iOS 19. Apple’s strategy of gradually rolling out features means that there’s always something to look forward to in the months ahead.
