Genmoji and Image Playground are finally here in the first iOS 18.2 developer beta

It comes shortly before the official release of iOS 18.1

· TechRadar

News By John-Anthony Disotto published 23 October 2024

(Image credit: Apple)
  • The developer betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2 have landed
  • They have new Apple Intelligence tricks like Genmoji and Image Playground
  • Apple also rolled out a major upgrade to Writing Tools across platforms

Shortly after confirming that Apple Intelligence will debut for all folks with eligible devices next week with iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, Apple is now giving developers a look at its next set of features. Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, and ChatGPT integration for Siri are appearing for the first time in the iOS 18.2 developer beta, being released today (October 23, 2024).

iOS 18.2 developer beta 1, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are available now for registered developers as part of the Apple Beta Software Program. Critically, these are still developer betas and not close to final, meaning that bugs, slowdowns, and speedbumps are to be expected.

In addition to four major new additions to Apple Intelligence, they also introduce support for English (Australia), English (Canada), English (New Zealand), English (South Africa), and English (UK).

Leading the charge beyond support for new languages is the first glimpse at Genmoji, Apple’s generative AI emoji tool that lets you combine emojis to create custom ones. This lands alongside Image Playground, Apple’s answer to the best AI image generators. We haven't had the chance to test these features yet, but Genmoji and Image Playground can be accessed directly from the Messages app, Notes, and Freeform.

(Image credit: Future / Apple)

Image Playground will also be a standalone app on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Thanks to dedicated Genmoji and Image Playground APIs for developers, more apps will have access to these AI image tools.

Elsewhere, Siri now has ChatGPT integration allowing you to ask OpenAI’s chatbot questions directly from inside Apple’s voice assistant. It's worth noting that this will be entirely opt-in, and Siri will flag when ChatGPT is answering a request.

Siri is also smarter; while not quite as smart as the final Apple Intelligence-powered version we expect to see next year, it will still be able to respond if you stumble over your words. Furthermore, Siri now has access to all of Apple’s how-to guides to help you with important device information.

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