12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Apple has released iOS 18.4, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more.

iOS 18
While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new things your ‌iPhone‌ will be able to do after you install the new update via Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update.

Prioritize Notifications

ios 18 4 prioritize notifications
iOS 18.4 introduces a smarter way to manage notifications with the new Prioritize Notifications feature. Initially launched as an all-or-nothing setting in beta 1, the feature in the latest beta release allows you to customize this feature on a per-app basis.

Priority notifications appear in a dedicated section on your Lock Screen, ensuring you see important alerts first. Apple Intelligence automatically determines which notifications deserve priority status, but you can still access all notifications by swiping up to view Notification Center.

Discover Vision Pro Content

vision pro app
If you own an Apple Vision Pro headset, iOS 18.4 will install a dedicated Vision Pro app on your iPhone. This companion app helps you discover and download content for your headset without needing to wear it.

The app features specialized sections for Immersive Video and 3D movies, plus the ability to download apps directly to your Vision Pro. There's also a My Vision Pro section that provides a user guide and helpful tips for getting the most from your device.

Apple Intelligence via Control Center

ios 18 4 control center apple intelligence
The Control Center now has a dedicated Apple Intelligence section in iOS 18.4. This new section incorporates the Type to Siri option (previously found in the now-removed Siri section) alongside new controls for activating Siri and accessing Visual Intelligence features.

Visual Intelligence via Action Button

ios 18 4 visual intelligence action button
In iOS 18.4, there's a new option that lets you configure the Action button to activate Visual Intelligence. This provides an alternative to using the Camera Control button on iPhone 16 models and enables the feature on iPhone 15 Pro devices. Visual Intelligence allows you to use your iPhone camera to learn more about places and objects around you. It can also summarize text, read text out loud, translate text, search Google for items, ask ChatGPT, and more.

Pause Downloads

ios 18 4 app store pause download
A small but useful addition in iOS 18.4 is the ability to pause app downloads directly from the App Store's update list. Previously, you could only completely stop an installation from the App Store or pause it by pressing on the app icon from your Home Screen.

The new functionality works for both fresh downloads and app updates, letting you pause and resume installations with greater flexibility.

Change App Settings via Shortcuts

ios 18 4 safari settings
Power users will appreciate the numerous new Shortcuts actions for Apple apps in iOS 18.4. Most of these actions focus on changing app settings without manual navigation. For instance, Maps now supports actions for avoiding busy roads or tolls, adjusting volume, and managing directions on radio, while Safari gains actions for controlling AutoFill, blocking pop-ups, closing tabs, changing search engines, and modifying the tab bar configuration.

Additional Settings actions are available for Reminders, Calendar, Apple TV, Books, Notes, Voice Memos, and Weather apps.

Get News About Everything Food

Apple News Food
A new dedicated food hub in Apple News delivers tens of thousands of recipes, restaurant features, healthy eating tips, and kitchen essentials all in one place. Available exclusively for Apple News+ subscribers, the section brings together content from renowned culinary publications including Allrecipes, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Good Food, and Serious Eats.

A highlight of the new food section is the Recipe Catalog, which will be regularly updated with fresh recipes. The practical cook mode feature provides step-by-step cooking instructions, and favorite recipes can be saved for offline access.

Sketch in Image Playground

ios 18 4 image playground
iOS 18.4 expands the creative capabilities of Image Playground with the addition of a new Sketch style. This artistic option joins the existing Animation and Illustration styles. Switching between styles is as easy as tapping the "+" button in the Image Playground app to access and swap between the different visual approaches.

In addition to the new style, Apple has refreshed the seasonal themes by replacing "Winter Holidays" with a new "Spring" theme, just in time for the changing seasons.

Play Ambient Music

ios 18 4 ambient music
iOS 18.4 introduces a calming new feature with Ambient Music, which is accessible directly from Control Center. This addition offers four distinct sound categories: Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing. Each sound category can be added to Control Center separately, giving you quick access to your preferred ambient soundscapes. Simply tap a category to start playing a random selection of sounds or music from that particular theme.

Control Center offers basic playback functionality, but you can access additional controls by tapping the Dynamic Island at the top of your screen or through the Now Playing widget. These expanded controls allow you to skip tracks and see what's currently playing.

Categorize Your Mail on iPad

ios 18 mail app
iPad users receive an intelligent Mail upgrade in iPadOS 18.4 with the introduction of email categorization. This organizational feature, which iPhone users have had since iOS 18.2, automatically sorts incoming emails into different sections for more efficient inbox management.

The system prioritizes important communications in the Primary category while organizing other messages into practical sections for product orders, newsletters, promotional deals, and social notifications. The idea is that this categorization reduces inbox clutter and ensures you see your most important messages first.

Bigger CarPlay Home Screen

ios 18 4 carplay
CarPlay appears to have received a welcome space upgrade in iOS 18.4, with some users reporting an expanded Home Screen that now displays three rows of app icons instead of the previous two rows. This enhancement allows drivers to view more apps at once without scrolling, making it easier and safer to access navigation, music, messaging, and other apps while on the road.

Express Yourself With New Emoji

iOS 18
There are new emoji characters in iOS 18.4, including bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter. The emojis are part of the Unicode 16 Standard that was released in September 2024.

Other smaller improvements in iOS 18.4 include one-tap options to delete or recover all photos in the Recently Deleted section of Photos, more Siri voices, new Podcast widgets, and a reorganized menu in the Wallet app that consolidates Orders, Settings, and Subscriptions and Payments options.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro: Release Date and Pre-Orders

Friday September 5, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple will be holding its annual iPhone event on Tuesday, September 9, to unveil the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Assuming that Apple sticks to its familiar pattern, the iPhone 17 series should be available to pre-order starting Friday, September 12 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time / 8 a.m. Eastern Time. The release date for the devices should be one week later, on Fr...
iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

New iPhone 17 Pro Details: Brighter Display, Best Battery Life, and More

Wednesday September 3, 2025 5:33 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will feature a number of significant display, thermal, and battery improvements, according to new late-stage rumors. According to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature displays with higher brightness, making it more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. The iPhone 16 Pro and...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Coming Next Week: Eight Reasons to Upgrade

Thursday September 4, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
We're only days away from Apple's "Awe dropping" fall event scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023. By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro's Biggest Design Mystery is Finally Solved

Friday September 5, 2025 9:33 am PDT by
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 17 series in just four days from now, and the biggest design mystery surrounding the Pro models has finally been solved. In a report outlining his expectations for Apple's event next week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the iPhone 17 Pro models will have "a new cutout area on the bottom two-thirds of the phone that doubles as the wireless charging area."...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode is Limited to These iPhone Models

Wednesday September 3, 2025 1:19 pm PDT by
iOS 26 introduces an Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says Adaptive Power Mode can make "performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness, allowing some activities to "take longer," and automatically turning on Low Power Mode when the iPhone's remaining battery life...
iPhone 17 Pro Iridescent Feature 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Prices Estimated Ahead of Apple Event Next Week

Tuesday September 2, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Just one week before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series, an analyst has shared new price estimates for the devices. Here are J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee's price estimates for the iPhone 17 series in the United States, according to 9to5Mac: Model Starting Price Model Starting Price Change iPhone 16 $799 iPhone 17 ...