Updated Dec. 8 with more claims about exactly when the release date will be.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had previously said that this year’s iOS update was huge. “I’m told that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates—if not the biggest—in the company’s history,” he reported. And now there are more reports of exactly when we should expect to see this release.
There’s no doubt this updated is highly anticipated, not least because it includes the arrival of the second tranche of Apple Intelligence and introduces access to ChatGPT—the first time Apple in years that has allowed an outside company to do something so integral to the iPhone’s operations. Gurman’s prediction looks like being justified.
Another indicator of its importance is the blanket coverage of it in mainstream media, with publications predicting the software’s release date. The Daily Mail, for instance, noted that EE had instructed its users that a service would be changing imminently. “EE told its customers: ‘We wanted to let you know that, from 09 December, you’ll no longer be able to use your EE shared number service on MacBooks and iPads,’ it reported.
Does this mean the UK network had inadvertently revealed the release date, the newspaper asked.
I’m not convinced. Although it’s the case that some carrier updates are timed to coincide with Apple’s own, it is just as possible that EE’s change needs to happen before iOS 18.2. Does this change the date I’m predicting for the release? See below.
Gurman also said we should expect to see the release “the week of Dec. 2, barring any unexpected delays.” That date has clearly passed and I never quite believed it—but I don’t believe there have been any delays, either.
In fact, Apple has just delivered the Release Candidate of iOS 18.2, which means the general release is just days away. And there’s a lot in it.
What’s In The Update
Since iOS 18.2 is the release which brings the biggest dollop yet of the headline Apple Intelligence feature, this has clearly been a highly anticipated update.
For some people, those in countries outside the U.S. which speak English, this is the motherlode of Apple Intelligence. Here’s why: users in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom will see Apple Intelligence for the first time, and that means everything U.S. iPhone users saw with iOS 18.1 plus everything new.
Visual Intelligence
Users of iPhone 16 handsets will see Visual Intelligence. Using the iPhone 16 Camera Control, you can point the iPhone camera at something nearby, such as an art gallery, to see the opening hours. You can get ChatGPT to help with information as well.
More Apple Intelligence
New for everyone in iOS 18.2 is Image Playground, a new app which creates pictures based on the prompts you give it. It can come up with images that resemble friends or family. There’s also Image Wand which does similar pic-making tricks in the Notes app and Genmoji, the custom emoji characters which are also based on prompts from you. They can be based on the People album in Photos, for instance. Note that these features may require a waiting list before you can try them.
Writing tools that arrived in iOS 18.1 are being enhanced to allow more changes and specify tone or content alterations you want to see.
There are other changes, such as the arrival of the Hearing Test for AirPods Pro 2 in more countries. Mail will have a big upgrade, Voice Memos will let you add layers to recordings on some iPhone models and there’ll be Sudoku for News+ subscribers.
iOS 18.2 Release Date
So, as Gurman didn’t have it right, when will iOS 18.2 launch?
Although it could be later, I believe it will be in the coming days. Apple likes a Monday or Tuesday release. This is a very big release so I think Monday, Dec. 9 may be too early. Tuesday, Dec. 10 or Wednesday, Dec. 11 seem the hot favorites to me. Wednesday is my best guess. And despite the EE information mentioned above, I still think it’ll be one of those two, perhaps leaning to the second of them, that is, Dec. 11.
