iOS 18.4 beta 1: All the new features and changes

After a lengthy delay following iOS 18.3‘s stable release, Apple has released the first iOS 18.4 beta. It brings several changes and new Apple Intelligence features, though the revamped Siri is missing.

Below are all the changes we have discovered in iOS 18.4 beta 1 so far.

iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 beta 1: What’s new and changed

Priority Notifications

Apple first showcased Priority Notification as part of Apple Intelligence at WWDC24. The feature will finally go live with iOS 18.4. As the name indicates, your iPhone will highlight priority notifications separately on the Lock Screen so that you can give them the due attention.

You can turn on/off the feature from Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications.

Support for more languages in Apple Intelligence

iOS 18.4 will expand Apple Intelligence support to the following languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified), and localized English for Singapore and India.

Sketch style in Image Playground

iOS 18.4 beta 1 adds a new “Sketch” style in Image Playground. You can access it by tapping the + icon in the app.

Apple Intelligence expands to Vision Pro

Alongside iOS 18.4 beta 1, Apple also released the first visionOS 2.4 beta for the Vision Pro. As previously reported, it brings Apple Intelligence to the mixed-reality headset with features like Writing Tools, Genmoji, and Image Playground.

With the stable iOS 18.4 release in April, Apple will add a new Vision Pro app to the iPhone to control the new Guest Mode feature. It will also provide tips and enable you to download visionOS apps and content.

Mail Categorization comes to iPad’s Mail app

Apple introduced mail categorization in its Mail app on the iPhone with iOS 18.2. However, the feature did not make its way to the iPad. iPadOS 18.4 beta 1 changes that, bringing categorization to the iPad’s Mail app. The feature will use on-device AI to categorize your mails into Primary, Newsletter, Social, Deals, and other cateogries.

Ambient Music

There are four new Ambient Music toggles in iOS 18.4 beta 1’s Control Center: Chill, Productivity, Sleep, and Wellbeing. You can also set them to be triggered using your iPhone’s Action button. You can control the ambient music playback from the Dynamic Island, skip songs, and see the name of the currently playing song.

iOS 18.4 Beta – Ambient Music Controls 😍 pic.twitter.com/ZQGQqD5o3X

— TechDroider (@techdroider) February 21, 2025

Set a default Translate app

iOS 18.4 lets you set a default Translate app. So, you can replace Apple’s Translate app with Google Translate as the default app on your device. In the EU, the new iOS beta adds an option to select a default Navigation map.

Apple News+ Food

iOS 18.4 will add a new Food section to Apple News+. It will contain stories surrounding restaurants, healthy food, and tens of thousands of recipes from some of the world’s top food publishers, like Allrecipes, Good Food, and Serious Eats.

All recipes will be displayed in an easy-to-follow format, with a cook mode showing the instructions in full screen. Apple claims it will add new recipes every day as well.

Genmoji button on keyboard

The keyboard in iOS 18.4 beta 1 shows a Genmoji button, replacing the previous colored smiley face.

New filter in the Photos app

The Photos app in iOS 18.4 beta 1 adds a filter to show pictures and videos that are not added to an album. You can also re-order albums from the Media Types and Utilities section.

iOS 18.4 lands in April

Apple has already confirmed iOS 18.4 lands in April, so expect a few more beta builds of the OS to arrive before that. The second beta should contain a few more changes, with future builds after that focusing on bug fixes.