Apple launches iOS 18.2 developer beta (the real AI update)

Apple’s iOS 18.1, which will become widely available in a few days, brings a timid list of Apple Intelligence features, with arguably some of the coolest ones missing.

But Apple’s iOS 18.2 is the real deal, and it just became available as a developer beta.

How do you install the iOS 18.2 developer beta?

First, the bad news: Even for a dev beta, which requires users to register as developers, this release is incredibly limited. It will not show up as an option for users who don’t have an AI-capable device (I, for example, am not seeing it on my iPhone 12 Pro, but I did get the iPadOS equivalent on the iPad mini 7). Furthermore, none of the new AI features are available in Europe and China.

If you are registered as developer, and you tick all the boxes (device language and Siri language must be set to English, and you must be in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa), and you have an iPhone 15 Pro, or an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, you’ll be able to download and test the update.

What do you get in iOS 18.2 developer beta?

Apple’s release notes for the iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 developer betas are available on Apple’s website, but they don’t list all the new features. And there’s quite a few in this release, so here’s an overview (focusing on Apple Intelligence).

• Genmoji are here — the AI-powered custom emoji are now craftable. Users running iOS 18.1 will see them, but they won’t be able to create them. To create a Genmoji, just type in a query such as “cat scientist” and the AI will concoct a cute image for you. Then, you can adjust the character further by refining your query. Or you can just pick up a photo of someone from your Photos library and create a Genmoji that looks like them.

• Image Playground — similar to Genmoji, but a little more elaborate. Again, you can create an image based on a text description or a person from your Photos library, and refine it until you get exactly the result you want.

• Image Wand — this is essentially Image Playground integrated into the Notes app. Draw a sketch, or select a phrase, and the Image Wand will create an image right there in your note.

• Siri plays nice with ChatGPT — if you opt-in, Siri can now hand over your queries to ChatGPT. This works without an OpenAI account, and Apple says your data is not stored anywhere.

• Writing Tools — this is already available in 18.1, but 18.2 expands it further, with the ability to refine certain aspects of the text further.

Need to add a simple illustration to your note? Image Wand is here to help.
Credit: Apple

• Visual Intelligence — this feature only works on iPhone 16. Fire up your camera and point it to something, and the AI will fetch some relevant data (such as opening hours for a coffee shop).

All in all, this is a pretty big deal. The Apple Intelligence features you get in iOS 18.1 are nice but are just the tip of the iceberg, and a small part of what Apple promised for the release. With iOS 18.2, we get a glimpse into the more advanced AI features which will be rolling out to all users later this year. If you want to give the iOS 18.2 dev beta a try, know that this is an early release and as such prone to bugs; always back up your device before you install beta software.