iOS 18.2 beta now available with Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT, iPhone 16 Visual Intelligence, and more

The first developer beta of iOS 18.2 is out now. The update brings the second wave of Apple Intelligence features for developers to try.

iOS 18.2 includes Apple’s image generation features like Genmoji and Image Playground, ChatGPT integration in Siri and Writing Tools, and more powerful Writing Tools with the addition of the ‘Describe your change’ text field. iPhone 16 owners can access Visual Intelligence via the Camera Control. The update also expands Apple Intelligence availability to more English-speaking locales, beyond just US English …

iOS 18.1 will launch publicly next week, with Apple Intelligence support for US English only. iOS 18.2 adds additional English locales, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

If you are outside of these markets, you can change your device language to one of the supported languages to try Apple Intelligence. Apple will officially roll out support for some non-English languages next year. However, Apple Intelligence is forcibly disabled in China and the EU due to regulatory issues.

iOS 18.1 includes the initial set of Apple Intelligence features including Writing Tools, Siri updates, Clean Up and Memory Movies in Photos, notification summaries, priority messages in Mail and transcription summaries for phone calls.

iOS 18.2 builds on that foundation, launching generative image generation features for the first time. Image Playground lets users create custom images from scratch, using text prompts and theme suggestions, in a cartoony style. Image Wand can turn a rough sketch with the Apple Pencil into a rendered image. And Genmoji lets users create brand new emoji to share with friends in their messages; the Genmoji editor is conveniently integrated into the normal system emoji keyboard.

iOS 18.2 also includes enhancements to Writing Tools. As well as the preset transformations, there’s a new text field which lets users describe their change with a freeform textual request. For instance, you can ask Writing Tools to make your document ‘sound more enthusiastic’. iOS 18.2 also integrates ChatGPT into Writing Tools, with a new Compose with ChatGPT interface.

ChatGPT is also integrated into Siri with iOS 18.2, so Siri can handoff requests to ChatGPT that it couldn’t handle itself. For instance, if you ask Siri to create an itinerary, it can relay the request to ChatGPT’s world knowledge models and returns the response inline. To respect user privacy, you must first explicitly allow Siri to use ChatGPT usage for the request.

For iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro owners, iOS 18.2 also includes Visual Intelligence. This feature lets you access a new viewfinder by holding down the Camera Control on the lockscreen. You can then quickly snap a photo to learn more about what you are looking at.

All these features are also available in the betas of macOS 15.2 and iPadOS 18.2. They are made available to developers today as an early preview. Apple has not confirmed a public release date for iOS 18.2, but previously promised it would be made available before the end of the year.

Beyond iOS 18.2, we are still waiting for some more previously-announced Apple Intelligence features to make their debut. That includes personal context awareness and in-app actions for Siri, and a new AI-enhanced priority notifications section on the iPhone lock screen. These features should arrive in early 2025.