Apple has released the final beta of iOS 18.2, and those with iPhones that are compatible with Apple Intelligence and the new features it brings to iOS will be excited about the latest version of the software. Those with older models will probably not be so overjoyed, but it is still nice to get the new software.

Based on Apple's typical release schedule, iOS 18.2 will likely be released next week.

As for new features in iOS 18.2, much of the update focuses on bringing Apple Intelligence capabilities to the iPhone. image Playground is the first feature mentioned in Apple's release notes. The company describes it as “a new app that lets you create fun, playful images in multiple styles using concepts, descriptions, and people from your photo library.”

Another new feature is Genmoji, which allows users to create custom emojis from their keyboard. While not as cool as Image Playground, it seems like a cool feature.

Perhaps most exciting is the addition of ChatGPT support, which was heavily advertised during the initial Apple Intelligence announcement; Apple states that “ChatGPT in OpenAI is accessible from Siri and Writing Tools.” Apple also states that “Siri can tap ChatGPT when relevant to provide you with an answer.”

The release notes also mention signing in with a ChatGPT account to get the benefit, but also state that “an account is not required and requests will be anonymous.”

Other features include visual intelligence with camera controls, email categorization, improved video browsing, improvements when navigating collection views, and layered voice memo recording.

Visual Intelligence is like a combination of Google Lens and Circle to Search. For example, one could point the iPhone camera at a restaurant and get ratings and other information. Or, after scanning a concert poster, it can add the date of that concert to a calendar.

This particular update is mostly these new features and bug fixes, which is always a good thing. This is a release candidate and should be the final version, so barring any major bugs, developers should be able to have what we get next week.