California-based Apple is reportedly gearing up to release the first beta of iOS 18.4, which is expected to introduce significant updates to Siri alongside further enhancements to Apple Intelligence.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, an expert on Apple, the beta version is likely to be made available to developers between mid-next week and early the following week.
Historically, Apple has varied the release dates of its early-year updates, with iOS 17.4 beta 1 launching on 25 January last year, while iOS 16.4 beta 1 arrived later, on 16 February. This time around, iOS 18.4 is anticipated to bring long-awaited advancements to Siri, particularly for devices compatible with Apple Intelligence.
According to Gurman, these improvements could include personal context understanding, on-screen awareness, and greater control over apps.
Additionally, the update is expected to introduce Priority Notifications, a feature leveraging AI to automatically highlight key notifications. Apple has also confirmed that iOS 18.4 will mark the first expansion of Apple Intelligence to a broader range of languages, including Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Furthermore, users can likely expect a fresh selection of emoji, following their unveiling by the Unicode Consortium. Among the new additions could be the fingerprint, a face with bags under the eyes, a harp, a root vegetable, a leafless tree, a splatter, and a shovel.
Although an official release date has yet to be confirmed, excitement is growing for Apple’s upcoming software update, promising AI-powered enhancements and broader language support to elevate the user experience.
Meanwhile, Gurman has also suggested that Apple is likely to unveil the iPhone SE 4 through a press release rather than a dedicated event. Furthermore, the handset is expected to go on sale later this month.
As per several media reports, the iPhone SE 4 could be a major departure from its predecessor, adopting a design akin to the iPhone 14. This means the traditional thick bezels and the Touch ID Home button could be a thing of the past, marking the complete transition to Face ID across Apple’s smartphone range.
