iOS 18.2 LIVE — iPhones just got a massive Apple Intelligence upgrade
Apple Intelligence headlines Apple's latest software update
How to use Image Playground
Philip Michaels here. I'm the managing editor for mobile at Tom's Guide, and I'll be taking over for Jeff Parsons the rest of the way. And now that we've talked about what features are available via the iOS 18.2 update, let's talk about how to use them.
Let's start with Image Playground, which is probably the feature people are most excited about. We've got a step-by-step guide on how to use Image Playground, but the TLDR; version is that you'll launch the app and be immediately greeted by a text field where you can enter in the image you want to see. There's also some suggestions on various objects, themes and backgrounds to use in your generated image if you need help coming up with a prompt or fine-tuning your creation.
My advice to you after using the app is to make a lot of adjustments to your image, either by adding more to your prompt or removing the parts of the prompt that don't quite work.
During the iOS 18.2 beta, you had to first sign up with Apple to use Image Playground, and you could only get started with the app once you were approved. In my experience, that took a couple of days. I don't know if that will continue now that iOS 18.2 is out of beta, but it's something to bear in mind when firing up Image Playground for the first time.
Apple Intelligence on iOS 18.2 will make writing easier
Today's update will also introduce Apple’s Writing Tools, a suite of AI-driven features that enhance writing and communication. These tools offer functionalities such as grammar and spelling checks, tone adjustments, and sentence rewrites, directly integrated into Apple's ecosystem.
This development positions Apple Intelligence as a direct competitor to established services like Grammarly. Yet, with Apple Intelligence, users don't have to add any external writing tool apps because everything they need works seamlessly across Apple products.
Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.2 will provide comprehensive grammar correction, stylistic refinement, and tone adjustments regardless across multiple platforms. Open a Google Doc or email on your phone and start writing with the assistance of Apple AI. This is going to be very useful.
Supercharged Siri
Siri tends to take something of a beating when we talk about which virtual assistant is the best, but you're going to notice several changes once you've updated to iOS 18.2 that make it far more helpful.
For starters, Siri is now able to talk with a more conversational tone, and is better at understanding what you’re asking. Better still it can remember what you’ve asked before, and continue conversations regardless of how many other requests you make in the interim.
Oh, and those requests can be made by typing, rather than forcing you to use your voice. If you want to get the best from Siri after you've installed your update, try these seven prompts first.
ChatGPT comes to iPhone
Perhaps one of the biggest talking points in iOS 18.2 that I'm most excited for is the fact that ChatGPT itself will now be integrated with your iPhone.
It needs to be enabled manually, but with the feature switched on, ChatGPT will be able to take care of things that Siri can't alone, like generating text with Writing Tools. You can also log-in with your own account if you wish so you can access your ChatGPT Plus subscription if you have one.
ChatGPT also helps with Visual Intelligence on iPhone 16. The "Ask" function directs your requests through the chatbot to hopefully teach you more about what's in front of you.
Apple Intelligence in more languages
To use Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.1, you had to have your device set to U.S. English. That's fine but not ideal if you speak a different flavor (or flavour if you prefer) of English, and could be tricky if English is not your native language.
Fortunately, among its upgrade iOS 18.2 allows devices using Australian, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand, South African and U.K. English to work with Apple Intelligence. Sadly beyond that, other languages are still only due to arrive between now and April 2025.
If you want to switch languages to take advantage of Apple Intelligence, you can use this guide.
The reviews are in...
We've covered Apple Intelligence a fair bit on Tom's Guide, but we're not the only ones excited by the potential of this new technology. Over at the Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern has given her thoughts in an in-depth Apple Intelligence review with the title "The AI Apple Promised Us".
You can read it for yourself here but Stern's take is similar to my own feeling on Apple Intelligence: it makes the iPhone 16 what was promised to us back in September.
What's interesting is that the WSJ isn't convinced a software update alone is enough to get people to upgrade their device. I'm not sure I agree. We know that users are holding onto their phones for longer and with seemingly ever-more-incremental hardware upgrades happening, the big draw to update your iPhone in future could well depend on large scale software improvements like Apple Intelligence.
Image Playground: Apple’s new AI image generator
Image Playground does something special that only Apple can do at this scale. It is fine-tuning an AI image model on your own pictures. This is known as personal context and its possible because it happens entirely on-device.
Your phone, tablet or laptop are doing all the hard work in analyzing your images, describing you and your family and then creating something new based on that detail.
It is an incredibly fun way to create personalized stickers to send in the group chat, build your own custom memes and otherwise generate images with a personal touch.
Available as a standalone app or from within Messages, Image Playground pictures come in two styles: Cartoon and Illustration. There's no photorealism, in part because that would over-tax the capabilities of a phone, but also because it allows Apple to reduce the potential for misuse.
It is one of those Apple Apps that you don’t really "get" until you try it, and once you’ve tried it it’ll likely become one of your favorites.
Who is getting Apple Intelligence and when?
Apple Intelligence is a pretty seismic shift in how you use your iPhone but, crucially, not everyone is going to get it with iOS 18.2. There are both device and region limitations to be aware of.
Cupertino's suite of AI enhancements will be available on the following devices: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, any iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later, and any Mac with an M1 chip and later.
When we're talking about iPad and Mac, those enhancements come with iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 which are also rolling out today.
There's a caveat in place for anyone reading this in the EU — while Apple Intelligence will roll out for the Mac in that region, it won't become available on iPhone or iPad for several months yet. Apple says it will be giving EU iPhone and iPad users access to Writing Tools, Genmoji, a redesigned Siri with richer language understanding, ChatGPT integration, and more from April 2025.
For anyone reading this outside of an English-speaking country, Apple Intelligence can be accessed in most regions around the world when the device and Siri language are set to localized English for the following regions: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.K., or the U.S.
Visual Intelligence is Apple's answer to Google Lens
Visual intelligence is one of the most exciting features of Apple Intelligence coming through with iOS 18.2. It’s Apple’s answer to the likes of Google Lens and is only available on the iPhone 16 series where it can be accessed directly from the Camera Control button.
All you have to do is point your camera at something you want to learn about and click the shutter. You’ll know Apple Intelligence is working because you’ll see a rainbow-colored flash.
Once you have the image captured, Visual Intelligence will tell you things like opening hours for a shop, reviews for a cafe or even what a sign in a foreign language says. While you can typically do this with an old fashioned image search, the seamless interaction of Visual Intelligence with your iPhone’s camera will hugely speed up this process.
Finally, if you snap a picture of something with a lot of text in it, Visual Intelligence can generate a quick summary for you to help save time.
Genmoji: A personal way to communicate
Genmoji is a brilliant addition to the Apple ecosystem. It uses AI image generation technology for the specific purpose of letting users craft their own custom emojis. You can then send them in a chat as an emoji reaction, sticker or tapback.
There are now hundreds of different emojis available through the emoji keyboard, but with Genmoji you don’t need to find one, or even a combination, that fit your requirements — you can just make exactly what you want. For example, craft a slice of pizza with bananas on top or an emoji version of yourself playing guitar.
Available on any device capable of running Apple Intelligence, the genmoji is generated entirely ‘on device’, meaning no information is sent out to the cloud. Your phone, laptop or iPad does all the hard work which also makes it much faster and accessible.
There are limitations though as Apple has implemented guardrails preventing the creation of potentially harmful genmojis. Basically, if it wouldn’t be available on a normal emoji keyboard then you probably can’t generate it using Genmoji.
How to install iOS 18.2
The first thing you’re going to want to know is how do you actually get the iOS 18.2 update on your iPhone? Luckily, the process couldn’t be simpler. The most efficient way to make sure you’re in line to get it is to turn on automatic updates in your iPhone’s Setting menu. Simply go to Settings > General > Software Update on a compatible device.
If you want a full step-by-step breakdown, we’ve got you covered. Just follow our how-to guide here which includes screenshots walking you through the process.
