Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the fourth betas. Alongside the release candidate versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating system updates, Apple has also seeded the watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and HomePod Software 18.2 RCs. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a public release should no notable bugs be found.

Generic iOS 18
With iOS 18.2 and its sister updates, Apple is continuing to test the next phase of Apple Intelligence, with several new features available for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

Image Playground

Image Playground is Apple's image generation app, and it can create images based on prompts. You can enter a description of what you want or use the built-in suggestions and concepts that Apple provides. Apple will suggest costumes, locations, items, and more to add to an image, and these concepts are intelligent and can draw inspiration from a Messages thread or content in the Notes app.

There are options to create characters that resemble your friends and family, and you can choose a photo for ‌Image Playground‌ to use as inspiration to create a related image. Elements added to ‌Image Playground‌ creations are previewed, and there is a preview history so you can undo a change and go back to a prior version.

While ‌Image Playground‌ is a standalone app, it is also integrated into Messages. ‌Image Playground‌ does not make photorealistic images and is instead limited to animation or illustration styles.

Image Wand

Image Wand is an Image Playground-related feature that's available in the Notes app. You can draw a rough sketch with the Apple Pencil or circle a blank space or a key phrase in a note to have ‌Image Wand‌ generate an appropriate image.

Genmoji

Genmoji are custom emoji characters that you can create based on descriptions and phrases. Like ‌Image Playground‌ creations, you can base them on your friends and family, with the data pulled from the People album in Photos. You can also make characters using basic elements, and you'll get multiple ‌Genmoji‌ suggestions to choose from. You can create ‌Genmoji‌ using the emoji keyboard.

‌Genmoji‌ are limited iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 right now, but will be coming to ‌macOS Sequoia‌ later.

Siri ChatGPT Integration

Siri can integrate with ChatGPT for certain requests, but only with user approval. If ‌Siri‌ is unable to provide an answer to a query, ‌Siri‌ will hand the request over to ChatGPT. ChatGPT's answer will then be provided by ‌Siri‌.

ChatGPT can be used to create content from scratch, including text and images. No account is required to use ChatGPT integration, and Apple and OpenAI do not store requests.

Visual Intelligence

iPhone 16 users have access to Visual Intelligence, a feature that provides information about what's around you. If you open the camera and point it at a restaurant, for example, you'll see opening hours and reviews.

Some other ‌Visual Intelligence‌ capabilities include reading text out loud, detecting phone numbers and addresses to add them to Contacts, copying text, and summarizing text. There is an option to search Google for where to buy a specific item that you see, and you can also point the camera at something and then get more information about it from ChatGPT.

Apple plans to expand this feature to include more functionality over time.

Writing Tools

Apple is enhancing the Writing Tools feature to add an option to make more open-ended changes. In iOS 18.1 and its sister updates, Writing Tools can only be used to change the tone to friendly, professional, and a more simplified version. In iOS 18.2, you can describe the tone or content change that you want to make, such as adding more action words, or turning an email into a poem.

More Languages

‌Apple Intelligence‌ has gained support for localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and the U.K., in addition to U.S. English.

Wait List

If you've already been testing ‌Apple Intelligence‌ and are opted in, you will have access to Writing Tools, ChatGPT integration, and ‌Visual Intelligence‌ automatically.

There is a secondary waiting list for early access to use ‌Genmoji‌, ‌Image Playground‌, and ‌Image Wand‌. You can sign up to get access in ‌Image Playground‌ or in the areas where you access ‌Genmoji‌ or ‌Image Wand‌.

When you request access, you are added to a wait list for all three capabilities and you'll get a notification when the features are available for you to use. Apple is rolling out access to the new image generation features over the coming weeks.

Availability and Compatibility

The iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.2 are available on all devices, but the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features require a device capable of ‌Apple Intelligence‌. Apple is still working on refining the new ‌Apple Intelligence‌ tools, and the company warns that ‌Genmoji‌, ‌Image Wand‌, and ‌Image Playground‌ can sometimes give you results you weren't expecting. Apple is collecting feedback on these experiences and will refine them over time.

‌Apple Intelligence‌ requires an iPhone 15 Pro or any ‌iPhone 16‌ model, an ‌iPad‌ with an M-series chip or an A17 Pro chip, or a Mac with an M-series chip.

Release Date

Apple is expected to release the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.2, watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and visionOS 2.2 updates next week.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google made waves yesterday by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
24 weeks ago
Released today to devs and PB testers
iOS 18.2 RC (22C150) - December 5, 2024
iPadOS 18.2 RC (22C150) - December 5, 2024
iPadOS 17.7.3 RC (21H312) - December 5, 2024
macOS 15.2 RC (24C98) - December 5, 2024
tvOS 18.2 RC (22K154) - December 5, 2024
watchOS 11.2 RC (22S99) - December 5, 2024
visionOS 2.2 RC (22N840) - December 5, 2024
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dominiongamma Avatar
24 weeks ago
In a parallel universe, this would have been released with iOS 18 on day 1
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oestreich Dieter Avatar
24 weeks ago

It is better for Apple to release the features that they know are stable and actually work, rather than rush features out the door in a day 0 release that will only just end up requiring a billion updates to fix just to appeal to a minority.

What I'm saying is, it's a good thing Apple didn't rush Apple Intelligence's features out with the 18.0 release. Features will arrive when they arrive. It's not like you're somehow going to die if you don't have them.
We went 17 years worth of iPhones without these "intelligence" features. Now people are dooming and glooming because its not being rolled out all at once. You will survive without them for a few more months people, I promise.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
24 weeks ago
The long awaited RCs finally arrive
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tywebb13 Avatar
24 weeks ago
ios and ipados 18.2 rc build is 22C150

macos Sequoia 15.2 rc build is 24C98

tvos and audioos 18.2 rc build is 22K154

watchos 11.2 rc build is 22S99

visionos 2.2 rc is build 22N840

there is also a ipados 17.7.3 rc build 21H312

also macos Sonoma 14.7.2 rc 4 build 23H311 and macos Ventura 13.7.2 rc 4 build 22H313

The Sequoia RC has ipsw https://updates.cdn-apple.com/2024FallFCS/fullrestores/072-38683/C48192CB-7F42-4DD2-9EE6-0F6691DC088E/UniversalMac_15.2_24C98_Restore.ipsw but they probably won't make full installer this time till public release
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eveluvsrainbows Avatar
24 weeks ago

In a parallel universe, this would have been released with iOS 18 on day 1
It is better for Apple to release the features that they know are stable and actually work, rather than rush features out the door in a day 0 release that will only just end up requiring a billion updates to fix just to appeal to a minority.

What I'm saying is, it's a good thing Apple didn't rush Apple Intelligence's features out with the 18.0 release. Features will arrive when they arrive. It's not like you're somehow going to die if you don't have them.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)