Your iPhone's next iOS 18.2 update may come earlier than usual - with these AI features

Apple has been touting its Apple Intelligence as the spark to finally bring artificial intelligence (AI) to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But the technology is being doled out in dribs and drabs with each new update. iOS 18.1 already added a few AI tidbits to the iPhone. Now iOS 18.2 is set to deliver more AI capabilities, possibly as soon as early December.

In the latest edition of the Apple-focused Power On Newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that the next iOS update is set to arrive on the early side of December. But how early? 

Also: Can't find Apple's AI features after upgrading to iOS 18.1? Do this

Gurman said he was told that it should pop up during the week of December 2, barring any unexpected delays. That could point to any day that week from Monday to Friday. However, iOS 18 and iOS 18.1 were released on a Monday, which means we might see 18.2 as soon as Monday, December 2. Apple has said only that the next round of Apple Intelligence tools will arrive in December. Whatever the date, iPadOS and macOS should also receive the latest updates around the same time.

On October 28, iOS 18.1 unveiled the first batch of Apple Intelligence features. Siri has a new look, a more natural and conversational style, and an awareness of your device to help you with specific tasks. Now, writing tools try to help you fine-tune your emails, messages, and notes and provide summaries of emails, documents, and web pages.

Also: Every iPhone model that supports Apple's AI features (including the new Siri)

An update to the Photos app lets you use natural language to find specific photos. Other features include notification summaries, phone calls, note recording and summaries, and priority messages in your inbox.

What will iOS 18.2 bring in terms of AI skills?

ChatGPT will finally be integrated into the operating system, so you'll be able to ask OpenAI's AI chatbot for assistance if Siri can't handle your request. An Image Playground app will help you design your own animated, illustrated, and sketched images to use and share across Messages, Notes, and other apps. A new Genmoji option will tap into AI to generate emojis based on your descriptions.

An image wand will try to turn your rough sketches into full-flown images. You'll also be able to create an image in an empty spot based on any text and other content from the surrounding area. Plus, Visual Intelligence will provide details of nearby landmarks and other items as you view them with the camera.

Also: Apple will pay you up to $1 million if you can hack into Apple Intelligence servers

There's more in store for Apple Intelligence beyond iOS 18.2. With iOS 18.3 likely to be a minor update, iOS 18.4 will add more AI features, especially ones that affect Siri.

For example, Siri is supposed to acquire on-screen awareness to answer questions and handle tasks based on your current screen activity. It should also be able to access and analyze your data to further help with specific actions.

Gurman noted future features include integration with Google Gemini. However, that likely won't happen until next year since Apple wants to give OpenAI a healthy period of exclusivity.