iOS 18.4 Beta 1: All the innovations and improvements
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Apple has released the first beta of iOS 18.4, introducing a number of new features and improvements for iPhone users.
Here are the main new features:
- Priority Notifications: A new feature that uses Apple Intelligence technology to highlight the most important notifications by displaying them in a separate section above the rest. This feature is disabled by default and can be turned on through Settings.
- Ambient Music: Added a new option in Control Center that allows you to play ambient music without the need to subscribe to Apple Music. Available categories include Sleep, Chill, Productivity and Wellbeing.
- New Languages for Apple Intelligence: Apple Intelligence has been expanded with support for additional languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. In addition, local English support was added for Singapore and India.
- Support for Robotic Brooms via Matter: The update adds support for robotic vacuums to the Apple Home app via the Matter protocol, allowing their control and integration into automation and scenes.
- New "Sketch" style in Image Playground: Image Playground now features a new "Sketch" style, giving users more options for creating images.
- Default Applications: Users can now set a different Translation app as default. In the European Union, there is also the option to select a different Navigation app.
- Privacy Indications: The small dots indicating the use of the camera or microphone have been moved to the left and are now more visible thanks to a black background.
- New Siri Voices: Two new Australian voices have been added for Siri, giving users more voice interaction options.
- Widgets for Podcasts: Added new "Library" and "Shows" widgets that can be added to the Home screen, providing quick access to the library and users' favorite shows.
- Signal indication in the Control Centre: The mobile toggle in the Control Center now displays real-time signal strength, giving users a better understanding of their connectivity.
These enhancements reflect Apple's ongoing commitment to providing a more personalised, secure and optimised experience for its users.
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