iOS 18.2 with Image Playground and Visual Intelligence expected in early December

The Bloomberg report backs up some previous claims of an early December launch. Expected in the next update to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS is the arrival of a few more marquee features of Apple Intelligence that Apple initially showcased in June 2024 at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference.

Beta testing for iOS 18.2 is currently underway, though developers are having to join a waitlist for access to the forthcoming graphics features. In addition to the Image Playground image generator and Genmoji custom emoji engine, testers will also be working with Image Wand and ChatGPT integration.

The former tool uses Apple Intelligence to create a full image out of a more basic sketch, as seen in the WWDC Apple Intelligence explanatory video. ChatGPT integration is part of the ongoing reinvention of Siri, which began with a new interface featured in iOS 18.1.

Some features of Apple Intelligence will not be available publicly until early 2025. Bloomberg has said that iOS 18.3, expected to be a bug-fix release, may come out before the end of 2024 or very early in the new year.

Betas of 18.4 and beyond are expected to arrive in March or April, and will continue adding new features to Siri, including Personal Context and deeper app integration. In addition, iOS 18.2 and later will finally begin bringing Apple Intelligence features to other countries and languages.