The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhone will be released soon, and it’s expected to include many new features and changes. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the iOS 18.4 beta could be released by this week. Below, we’re outlining what you can expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Siri with Apple Intelligence
iOS 18.4 is expected to bring several improvements to Siri powered by Apple Intelligence. These upgrades include on-screen awareness, per-app deep control, understanding of the user’s personal context, and much more.
Intelligence in Apples will need at least an iPhone 15 Pro, or any model of iPhone 16.
More languages for Apple Intelligence
Apple had previously announced that a software update coming in the April time frame of this year will bring Apple Intelligence to more languages, which will probably refer to iOS 18.4. The languages included are English (India), English (Singapore), Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. However, Apple points out that no language will be available in April-this addition will continue until 2025.
Currently, Apple Intelligence is available in localized English in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Improved News Summaries
Apple Intelligence’s notification summaries for the News app were temporarily unavailable in iOS 18.3 because the feature was summarizing some news incorrectly. Apple makes a statement with the improvements in the notification summary in their future software updates. So we will see if this comes to life in iOS 18.4.
It starts with the italics use from iOS 18.3. This makes summarized notifications look very different from a regular notification. However, in future updates, it’s expected that the news summaries will become more accurate.
New Emojis
iOS 15.4, iOS 16.4, and iOS 17.4 all introduced new emojis, so there’s a good chance this trend will continue with iOS 18.4. Last year, the Unicode Consortium previewed new emojis that are expected to arrive with iOS 18.4, including options like a face with bags under its eyes, a fingerprint, a tree without leaves, a root vegetable, a veena, a shovel, splashes, and much more.
Default Maps and Translation Apps in the EU
In an October 2024 document related to the EU Digital Markets Act, Apple revealed that it will allow iPhone and iPad users in the EU to set a default navigation and translation app starting in “Spring 2025.” This timeline is likely aligned with iOS 18.4.
Moreover, users should be able to select their default navigation application, which can include Google Maps, Waze, or other alternative applications, instead of being left with Apple Maps. Similarly, they should be able to select Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, or other alternatives instead of Apple’s Translate app. These options will be added to a new “Default Apps” section in the Settings app on iPhones, which was introduced in iOS 18.2.
Robot Vacuum Support in the Home App
Apple’s website has reported that an unspecified iOS 18 update will add robot vacuum support to the Home app. When available, this feature will allow you to control the main functions of your robot vacuum from the Home app and use Siri voice commands to manage it.
Apple describes the feature like this:
The Home app now supports the core functionality of robot vacuum cleaners, such as power control, cleaning mode, vacuuming, mopping, and charging status. They can also participate in automations and scenes and respond to Siri requests. This means you can add them to your cleaning routine—or ask Siri to do some spot cleaning in the living room.
References to this feature were added in the code of iOS 18.3, but it didn’t go live with that update, so it’s expected to be included in iOS 18.4.
