iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April.
Priority Notifications
Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at the June 2024 WWDC, and it's another Apple Intelligence feature that we've been waiting on since the September iOS 18 release.
With Priority Notifications, Apple analyzes your incoming notifications and highlights the ones that are important, based on context and time. If you've ordered food and your order is approaching, Apple will highlight that notification as a priority, placing it above other notifications. The same goes for anything that has a time-based component, or something else that needs immediate attention.
Priority Notifications is opt-in in the iOS 18.4 beta, so it needs to be turned on by going to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications.
When turned on, Priority Notifications show up first in your list of notifications on the Lock Screen, in a separate box with an icon that stands out. You can still see all of your other notifications by swiping.
Image Playground
When the Image Playground app launched, it only had Animation and Illustration styles to choose from for the images you make, but there were always meant to be three options.
With the iOS 18.4 beta, the third "Sketch" option is available as well. Sketch is a style that looks more like a hand drawn image, and it is distinct from Animation, which is a 3D style, and Illustration, a simpler 3D image.
Apple describes Sketch as a "highly detailed and academic" style that "produces gorgeous drawings on stark backgrounds," while the illustration style features strong outlines, bold colors, and simple shapes. Apple says the animation style has a "whimsical, 3D cartoon look."
New Languages
iOS 18.4 adds Apple Intelligence support for new languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified), plus localized English for Singapore and India.
iOS 18.4 Release Date
Apple has seeded one beta of iOS 18.4 to developers and public beta testers so far. A second beta will come next week, and it will be beta tested through the month of March.
Apple plans to release iOS 18.4 in early April.
Apple Intelligence Siri Features
There's a chance that we could still see the Apple Intelligence Siri features implemented in a later beta of iOS 18.4, but that's looking unlikely given that there's just a month until the update is set to come out.
Instead, Apple will likely add the Siri capabilities in an iOS 18.5 update. It is unusual for major new features to come in a .5 update as those updates often come out around the time when Apple transitions focus to a new version of iOS, but it's not unheard of. Apple has been releasing iOS 18 features gradually, and we'll probably see a similar tactic with iOS 19. Rumors already suggest iOS 19 development is being pushed back so that Apple can continue to work on iOS 18.
