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iPhone officially launched iOS 18.2, bringing many important innovations, including Apple Intelligence feature expansion, ChatGPT integration, new imaging tools, etc. This update not only enhances AI applications, but also optimizes the camera functions of the iPhone 16 Pro series, bringing users a more complete user experience.
1. iPhone 16 Series Enables Visual Intelligence
iOS 18.2 brings a new camera control setting to the iPhone 16 series, introducing the Camera Control button with capacitive touch and force sensing, and Apple's Visual Intelligence function to play new tricks. With visual intelligence, you only need to point the iPhone 16 at anything you are interested in, then click and hold the camera button to get practical information generated by Apple AI.
For example, take a photo of a restaurant and you can immediately see the rating and business hours; take a flyer and the calendar event will be automatically added; even take a photo of the dog and identify the breed. It all becomes simple and fast. iOS 18.2 brings a lot of new settings to camera control to make the photo-taking experience more personalized. You can now adjust the double-click speed of Camera Control, and in addition to the default options, you can choose "Slow" or "Slower" to find the rhythm that suits you best.
The update also adds a new option for AE/AF Lock, which can lock exposure and focus when taking pictures. Just tap Camera Control to toggle AE/AF Lock to ensure that even if the phone moves, the exposure remains stable and the brightness of the photo remains unchanged. Apple has also thoughtfully added a custom option that allows you to quickly open the Camera app even when the screen is off. In "Settings" > "Display & Brightness", there is an option "Require screen to be turned on", which is turned on by default. If you turn it off, you can quickly launch the iPhone Camera through Camera Control even if the screen is black, so as to capture wonderful moments at any time.
2. Introducing ChatGPT to Siri
From iOS 18.2, Siri can directly call ChatGPT to answer questions and handle requests. This artifact of OpenAI also brings new text generation capabilities to writing tools. Now, you no longer need third-party apps or websites, and you can let ChatGPT help you write or answer questions directly on iOS.
Apple designed this integration with privacy in mind, and all requests are sent anonymously. Basic features are free to use, and no ChatGPT account is required. However, premium features are limited. After updating to iOS 18.2, you can check if you have exceeded your daily premium feature quota. Once exceeded, additional requests will automatically be transferred to the basic version for up to 24 hours.
Siri can also get real-time information with ChatGPT Plus and can share screenshots. But be aware that ChatGPT integration is limited to devices that support Apple's smart features, such as the iPhone 16 series, which also have exclusive new settings waiting for you to explore.
3. System App Image Playground
iOS 18.2 introduces a new system app Image Playground that allows you to easily create images with AI. In this app, just enter the image description you want, and AI can help you generate pictures from people, landscapes to various objects. But don't worry, Apple has set up protections to ensure that copyrighted or inappropriate content is not generated.
You can choose one of two styles to create images: animated or illustrated. None of these images are surreal, and Apple has thoughtfully labeled all the generated images to prevent them from being mistaken for real photos.
The images generated by Image Playground have a resolution of 1024×1024, which are saved locally and can be shared like ordinary photos. There is also a function called Image Wand, which can generate images based on the text content in the memo, whether it is typed or handwritten. Image Playground can not only collaborate with Apple's own applications such as Freeform, Keynote, Messages, and Pages, but also with third-party applications. With it, creating Genmojis and other creative images becomes a breeze.
4. Mail Update
iOS 18.2 brings a major update to Apple's built-in Mail app, which can now automatically classify emails into predefined folders. This feature was previewed as early as WWDC 2024 and is now officially launched. Through machine learning, the Mail app will automatically classify your emails:
Main: Time-sensitive messages, emails from acquaintances, and other important information.
Transaction: Emails such as receipts and order confirmations.
Updates: Newsletters and social media notifications.
Promotions: Marketing and sales-related emails.
The new summary view simplifies the process of processing all emails from a specific company by letting you see all the emails at a glance. For example, you can easily get flight information for a specific airline. You can also customize the sender's email classification, and choose to display the badge prompt on the app icon only when there are important unread messages, or for all unread messages.
5. Create Custom Genmoji
In iOS 18.2, you can create unique emojis-Genmoji directly with the keyboard. These personalized emojis will be synchronized through iCloud and appear in the sticker drawer of all your compatible devices.
You just need to describe it briefly, and Apple's intelligence can help you. You can use pictures in the photo app as source materials, or you can choose universal emoji characters. Moreover, Genmoji is not limited to portraits. Any real or imaginary object can become a creative material, which depends entirely on your creativity and imagination.
6. FindMy Update
In iOS 18.2, FindMy has ushered in an important update. Now you can share the location of lost items with people you trust. If your AirTag or other FindMy-supported items are accidentally lost, just choose to share the location with trusted friends or even airlines, so that it is easier to find the lost items. This is especially suitable for lost luggage, and sometimes it can help recover stolen vehicles.
The location information is shared via a link, and the recipient can view the location of the AirTag, serial number, and associated Apple account email or phone within a limited time. Once the item is found or the link expires, location sharing will automatically stop.
7. Use AirPods Pro 2 as A Hearing Aid
iOS 18.2 further expands the hearing health features of AirPods Pro 2, and now users in more countries can enjoy these thoughtful services. The hearing test feature is now available in Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, UAE and the UK. In addition, the clinical-grade hearing aid feature is also available in the UAE.
These features were originally launched in the United States through iOS 18.1 and received the FDA's nod in September 2024. With AirPods Pro 2, users can not only test their hearing, but also use it as a hearing aid in cases of mild to moderate hearing loss. To use these new features, you need to make sure your AirPods Pro 2 firmware is updated to 7B19 or later. It should be noted that these features are not yet available in unapproved regions.
8. Other Updates
Some other updates are mostly minor improvements based on existing functions, and some minor bugs are fixed, making the overall experience smoother and more personalized.
Photos app: Video playback is no longer automatically enlarged, users can swipe videos frame by frame, and can disable automatic loop playback.
Apple TV app for iPad: A customizable tab bar has been added, and sidebar items can also be added to it, making the operation more flexible.
Apple Music & Apple TV: A new natural search function has been added to easily find content by actor, era, genre, mood, etc.
Face ID: Now you can use Face ID instead of password to verify iPhone from a trusted computer.
iPhone Mirroring: Even if Mac is used as a personal hotspot, you can mirror the iPhone Screen.
Podcasts: Added favorites categories and personalized search pages.
Notes: There is an additional "Create Image" button when selecting text.
Safari: The start page has a new background image, and file downloads support real-time activities.
Shortcuts: Three shortcuts related to the Fitness app have been added.
Stocks: Added pre-market quotes to facilitate tracking of Nasdaq and NYSE stocks.
Voice Memos: Supports layered recording, such as adding vocals to musical ideas.
Apple iOS 18.2 official version has added many useful new features, most of which are additional additions to Apple Intelligence. In addition to AI functions, it also brings a lot of camera control and recording enhancements to the iPhone 16 series. For older iPhone devices, the changes are not very obvious this time, and only some functions will be slightly changed.
If you are worried that iOS 18.2 will cause excessive power consumption and flash back after the update, it may not be too late to wait for subsequent netizens to report the situation online before updating. If you need to know more information, please pay attention to the phonefix platform. We are a company specializing in iPhone Repair Tools. We will report the first-hand resources of the iPhone series one by one.
