iOS 18.4 Launching in April: Siri Gets Smarter, New Emojis Arriving

Apple’s upcoming iOS 18.4 update is set to bring a significant leap in artificial intelligence to iPhones.

Following a less-than-exciting response to its previous update, Apple is under pressure to deliver innovative features that meet the growing expectations surrounding its Apple Intelligence.

iOS 18.4 aims to satisfy these expectations with smarter features for Siri, alongside fresh emojis that will spice up conversations.

Siri Gets Smarter with AI Integration

Siri’s evolution continues with iOS 18.4, offering the most advanced update yet. Siri will soon gain on-screen awareness, allowing it to understand and interact with the content displayed on your device.

For example, if someone texts you their new address, you can ask Siri to add it to their contact card, and it will update automatically.

With the integration of ChatGPT, Siri’s abilities are expanding to communicate with a wider range of apps. It will soon be able to execute more complex tasks, such as sending pictures from a weekend trip, or retrieving articles from your Safari reading list, all through a single command.

Siri is becoming more personalized, able to keep track of emails, messages, photos, and more, making it a more intuitive assistant that understands your needs.

New Emojis for 2025

Apple will also bring support for several new emojis with iOS 18.4, which were introduced by the Unicode Consortium in 2024. Among the seven new icons are a “face with bags under eyes,” perfect for expressing exhaustion, as well as a fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.

Release Date: When Will iOS 18.4 Arrive?

iOS 18.4 is expected to arrive in April 2025, with Tim Cook revealing in Apple’s latest earnings call that additional language support for Apple Intelligence will also be part of the update.

This will include languages like French, German, Italian, and Spanish, alongside new localized English versions for India and Singapore.

Apple usually launches major updates on Mondays or Tuesdays, so iOS 18.4 may land between April 7-15, 2025.

How to Download iOS 18.4 Early

For those eager to test the new features, Apple will offer beta versions of iOS 18.4 ahead of the official release. The developer beta may be available as soon as January 31, 2025, followed by a public beta shortly after.

To try the beta, sign up through the Apple website and select the beta software in Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone.

Be aware that beta software may come with glitches, but if you’re not satisfied, you can always roll back to the previous version.