🍎 Which features of iOS 18.2 we should be trying first?

🥔 Apple Intelligence may have officially launched with iOS 18.1 earlier this year, but those were pretty small potatoes in comparison. This is where Apple Intelligence really comes into its own.

📱 The AI features are only available on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, plus all four iPhone 16 models. Anyone with an older device, even the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus, will be missing out, on account of them not having the required 8GB of RAM.

❗️iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max won’t be getting every Apple Intelligence feature
Visual Intelligence is exclusive to iPhone 16 devices, for reasons Apple hasn’t explained. It’s not clear if it’s due to hardware constraints, or if Apple simply wants to limit the feature to phones with a Camera Control button, which means iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

🔎 So, what's exactly has been launched?

Visual Intelligence
It is a brand new camera mode accessible through the Camera Control button. The feature is Apple’s take on Google Lens, or a kind of AI vision if you prefer.

ChatGPT and Siri
ChatGPT in iOS 18.2 is an opt-in feature, which means you need to deliberately switch it on to take advantage of what it can do. But once it is switched on, it’ll add conversational AI abilities to Siri, letting you converse with the assistant in a much more natural way than you otherwise would.

Image Playground and Genmoji
No need in words to explain. Generate your own pictures and emojis and share in the comments! (decent ones, of course)

Image Wand
This feature is in the notes app, and transforms your sketches into a more polished image. Or, if you prefer, it will fill in blank spaces in the notes app, using your notes as the context and prompt it needs to create something new.

Writing tools
Writing tools launched with iOS 18.1, but there have been some upgrades packed into iOS 18.2 as well. This includes a new tool called “Describe Your Change” which lets you type in specific instructions for a text rewrite, rather than relying on Apple’s 3 pre-set options. That way the AI-assisted revisions should have a little more of a personal touch. (now you message can be read as you graduated at Oxford, thanks to AI)

🌎 By the way, iOS 18.2 also brings multiple languages to Apple Intelligence, including non-U.S. English: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the U.K.

💬 If you've already downloaded Apple Intelligence, share in the comments what new features you like best!

@iPhone

#iOS #AppleIntelligence

🍏 Imagine it. Genmoji it.

📱 Apple has released a promo video “Imagine it. Genmoji it” with a demonstration of the ability to generate your own emoji by description using Apple Intelligence.

By simply typing a description into the emoji keyboard, a Genmoji will appear, including multiple options to choose from. With images from their photo library, users can take Genmoji even further by creating one that is inspired by a friend or family member. Personalized Genmoji can be customized with accessories, like a hat or sunglasses, and can reflect themes or activities to make them even more personal and unique. Just like emoji, Genmoji can be added inline to messages, or shared as a sticker or reaction in a Tapback.

💬 “Owners” of Apple Intelligence share in the comments your Genmoji!

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#ApplePromo #AppleIntelligence

📰 News from Mark Gurman: Apple is designing a giant foldable iPad and a new Magic Mouse

📱 According to the insider, the company is developing a device with foldable displays that will be as big as two iPad Pro's lying side by side. Such a device is difficult to make because of problems with the visibility of the fold, but the company does not plan to release it earlier than 2028. Perhaps such a device would be a new version of the MacBook with a foldable display, but Gurman speculates that the system will be iPadOS or sort of it. Such a device would definitely be more expensive than $2,000.

📱 Also the company continues to study the idea of a foldable iPhone, such a device will be released no earlier than 2026. But the exact format of the device has not yet been determined: book or folding.

🔌 The main idea of the new Magic Mouse is to make something better that will fit the modern era of using a computer with a mouse, and also to fix a long-standing complaint of users which is the placement of the charging port. There are already prototype versions of the accessory that the company has been working on for the past few months, but the new product won't be out for another year at the earliest.

@iPhone

#iPad #MagicMouse #rumors

📰 The Wall Street Journal about foldable iPhone and the ‘iPhone 17 Air’

Thin ‘iPhone 17 Air’ will cost the same as the iPhone 16 Plus, and foldable iPhone in 2026 will get a ‘folding’ format.

2️⃣ new foldable devices are expected: an iPhone and a larger device as a laptop-tablet, which will have about a 19’ display when unfolded (information consistent with earlier rumours). Incidentally, this device was originally expected to launch first, but now the foldable iPhone has been prioritised – it's due out in 2026 and is highly likely to be in a ‘fold-out’ format rather than a book, which Apple has also been testing. It is noted that the foldable iPhone will unfold to a display size that will be larger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max (that is, at least 7 inches). The main task of engineers at the moment is to minimise the visibility of the crease on the display.

As for ‘iPhone 1️⃣7️⃣ Air’ it was already discussed here. It is expected to offer an alternative for those who want a sleeker phone and don't mind the compromises that a slim device would have. That is, Apple is betting that the ultra-thin design will be visually appealing. This thin ‘iPhone 17 Air’ (as insiders have dubbed it) will be thinner than current models, but it should also be cheaper than the Pro models, with a simplified camera system to keep costs down. The expected price level is the same as the iPhone 16 Plus, instead of which a thin iPhone is planned for the lineup.

@iPhone

#iPhone #iPad #rumors

😰 New 'Categories' in Mail hasn't been receiving the best response from iPhone users

😳 Apple Intelligence seems too intelligent since users still don't know how to cope with updated Mail app. According to a new survey by sellcellphone, 73% of iPhone users said Apple Intelligence adds little to no value to their experience. Nevertheless, AI could be very handy if know how to use it.

📧 Updated version of the Mail app with built-in categorization and how to turn it off

Mail Categories organizes your email inbox into the following sections:
・Primary for your most important messages;
・Transactions for your orders and receipts;
・Promotions for deals and offers;
・and Updates for news, subscriptions, and social.

If you don't like Mail Categories, you can swap back over to List View by tapping on the three dots in the upper right corner of the Mail app, but if you do want to give Mail Categories a try, there are a couple tips worth noting.

To get to a view of your inbox with all emails in chronological order without swapping views, just swipe left on the category bar to get to the "All Mail" option.

🤔 How do you like the updated Mail app?
👌 – quite useful
👎 – don't understand anything

@iPhone

#iOS #AppleIntelligence #apps

☁️ iPhone 17 Pro to retain 'triangular' camera design despite rumors of change

Previous reports suggest horizontal Pixel-like design module.

📰 The news that iPhone 17 Pro will retain the triangular camera arrangement was revealed by the Instant Digital insider with a strong track record on other leaks, who previously denied the abandonment of titanium in the iPhone 17 Pro:

My source told me that the appearance of the back panel will indeed change, but the layout of the three cameras will still be triangular, not the horizontal bar currently circulating on the internet.

🤔 Some insiders have already even rushed to make numerous concept designs with a “horizontal block” of cameras in the iPhone 17 Pro, but most of them are in fact technically impossible to realize while keeping Dynamic Island where it is now and placing the communication antennas at the top of the device. It is possible that the company has not yet approved the final design of the iPhone 17 Pro and the redesign of the camera unit into a “horizontal block” will still happen.

Does the iPhone 17 Pro need to change its usual camera layout?
👍 – Yes, it's about time.
👎 – No, it'll lose its uniqueness.

@iPhone

#iPhone #rumors

📰 Apple faces criticism over AI-generated news headline summaries

💬 Apple is facing calls to remove its AI-powered notification summaries feature after it generated false headlines about a high-profile murder case, drawing criticism from a major journalism organization.

📱 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged Apple to disable the Apple Intelligence notification feature, which rolled out globally last week as part of its iOS 18.2 software update.

🔫 The request comes after the feature created a misleading headline suggesting that murder suspect Luigi Mangione had shot himself, incorrectly attributing the false information to BBC News.

👮 Mangione in fact remains under maximum security at Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, after having been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York.

🤔 The BBC has confirmed that it filed a complaint with Apple regarding the headline incident. The RSF has since argued that summaries of the type prove that "generative AI services are still too immature to produce reliable information for the public."

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#AppleIntelligence

🧊 If you feel hot you can cool down with a new 'Ice Dive' immersive

🥽 Now Apple Vision Pro users can watch a new episode of the "Adventure" series, delving into a freezing underwater dive in the Arctic with athlete Ant Williams.

ℹ️ Ice Dive is the third episode in the Adventure series on the Vision Pro headset. The first Adventure episode, Highlining, was one of the first immersive videos that Apple made available when the Vision Pro launched. Parkour, another episode, launched earlier this year.

🦖 Apple has been working to bring more 3D videos to the Vision Pro over the last few months. There have been new dinosaur-focused Prehistoric Planet episodes, a new Boundless series exploring extraordinary places, a short film called Submerged, and more music-related content.

👍 Immersive videos are currently one of the main features of the Apple Vision Pro, if you haven't tried it, be sure to test it out, it's pretty fun.

@iPhone

#VisionPro

Apple is now offering 🆓 two-hour delivery

On eligible in-stock products ordered through December 24 in select countries.

🎁 The offer is available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV, and Beats only.

📍 Free two-hour delivery is available in most U.S. and Canadian metro areas for orders placed through Apple's online store, until December 24. The items will be delivered from a local Apple retail store by a courier service such as Uber Eats at a time selected during checkout. Apple normally charges $9 for two-hour delivery.

🇦🇺 Apple is also offering free three-hour delivery in Australia until December 24.

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#AppleStore

🔒 Apple is developing a smart doorbell with Face ID

📰 Apple is working on a “smart” doorbell that will be able to recognize occupants via Face ID, reports Mark Gurman for Bloomberg. The lock will work much like an iPhone, automatically opening the door when you look at it.

🔓 The bell's camera will be equipped with a special Secure Enclave chip that processes and stores information from Face ID. In this case, most likely the bell will be able to interact not only with Apple locks, but also with third-party devices. This will allow to release the development to the market faster.

ℹ️ After refusing to create its own car, Apple has decided to develop a system of “smart” home. Previously, insiders have already announced a smart display for home and a TV.

📆 The new doorbell is not expected to be released until late 2025 at the earliest.

@iPhone

#AppleSmartHome #projects

💰 Apple is investing $1 billion in Indonesia

ℹ️ The story began last month, when Indonesian authorities banned the sale of iPhone 16 smartphones in the country.

↗️ The official reason is violation of Indonesian legislation on content regulation. The unofficial one is insufficient investment in the country by the company that wants to sell its product here.

🏭 According to the local current policy of the authorities, in order to sell products in Indonesia, it is necessary to place its own production in the country. Otherwise, the business faces high import duties or even a complete ban, as in the case of the iPhone 16.

📰 Now, according to Bloomberg, the parties are close to lifting the ban, as Apple has offered to invest $1 billion to set up production facilities inside the country.

📍 Part of these funds will be used to build a factory for the production of AirTags on the island of Batam, near Singapore. According to the publication, here it is planned to produce up to 20% of the global volume of these devices.

📍 Another part of the investment will go to the opening of production of Apple accessories in the city of Bandung, near Jakarta, as well as to expand the Apple Academy program in Bali, responsible for the training of programmers.

@iPhone

#AppleInc #finance