iOS 18.4 Update: What’s New with Apple Intelligence and Siri?

Apple’s iOS 18.4 is on the way, and with it comes new Apple Intelligence features, expanded language support, and updates to Siri’s capabilities. While Siri is still evolving, this update brings incremental improvements to Apple’s AI ecosystem.

So, what’s new in iOS 18.4? Let’s dive into the details.

Apple Intelligence: Still Growing, But Not Fully Mature

When Apple Intelligence was introduced, Apple showcased personalized suggestions and cross-app interactions for Siri. However, four months later, many promised features are still missing.

Apple has been rolling out features slowly, improving Siri and Apple Intelligence bit by bit with each iOS 18 update. With iOS 18.4, we’re getting new enhancements, but Siri is still far from its final form.

iOS 18.4 Release Date & Public Beta

Apple has confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April—a rare announcement for a major update.

The developer beta is already available.
The public beta is also out, allowing users to test the update early.
Beta versions often contain bugs, so download at your own risk if you want to try it before the official release.

New Features in iOS 18.4

Expanded Language Support for Apple Intelligence

One of the biggest changes in iOS 18.4 is language expansion for Apple Intelligence.

Support now includes French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.
This update is especially important for iPhone and iPad users in the EU, as Apple Intelligence will now be available in the European Union for the first time.
Language support will also roll out for iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.

AI-Powered Priority Notifications

Apple is introducing priority notifications, allowing AI to decide which alerts matter most.

If you enable “Prioritize Notifications” in settings, AI will automatically highlight important alerts.
Time-sensitive notifications, such as delivery updates or event invites, will appear at the top of the lock screen.
The system works similarly to email prioritization, where some messages are ranked higher based on importance.

This feature aims to reduce notification clutter by showing what Apple thinks you should see first.

New “Sketch” Style in Image Playground

Apple’s AI-powered image generator, Image Playground, is getting a new “Sketch” art style.

The new style mimics colored pencil artwork, giving images a notebook-like appearance.
This update expands creative tools for users who enjoy AI-generated visuals.

Ambient Music for Focus & Relaxation

iOS 18.4 introduces a new ambient music feature in Control Center.

Users can add an Ambient Music toggle with different mood-based playlists:
✅ Sleep – Relaxing sounds for bedtime.
✅ Chill – Laid-back background music.
✅ Productivity – Focus-enhancing tunes.
✅ Well-being – Calm and uplifting sounds.

🔹 Pro Tip: There’s already a built-in white noise generator on iPhones.

Found under Settings → Accessibility → Background Sounds.
Offers rain, ocean, and fire crackling sounds.
You can also add it to Control Center for easy access.

New Apple News+ Food Section

If you subscribe to Apple News+, you’ll find a new Food section with:

Recipes from food & cooking publications.
A new Cooking Mode that displays step-by-step instructions.

This makes it easier to follow along while cooking—a helpful feature for home chefs.

Siri’s AI Upgrade: Still a Work in Progress

One of the most anticipated Apple Intelligence updates is a smarter Siri with context awareness.

Apple originally promised that Siri could make cross-app connections, like:

Saving an address from a text directly into a contact card.
Finding book recommendations from previous messages.

However, these features are still missing. Apple says more Siri updates are coming, but there’s no exact timeline for when we’ll see full functionality.

For now, Siri improvements are coming in small steps—we’ll have to poke at Siri later to see how she evolves.

Final Thoughts: Is iOS 18.4 a Game-Changer?

✅ What’s Exciting:

Expanded Apple Intelligence languages.
Smarter notifications powered by AI.
New Image Playground & ambient music features.
More Apple News+ content for food lovers.

❌ What’s Still Missing:

Siri still isn’t as powerful as Apple promised.
Some Apple Intelligence features are rolling out too slowly.

While iOS 18.4 is a solid update, we’re still waiting for the full potential of Apple Intelligence to unfold.

iOS 18.4 Update: What’s New with Apple Intelligence and Siri?