Apple Releases iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 – Here’s What’s New In The Update

Apple has just released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, bringing exciting new features to iPhone and iPad users. The update introduces Priority notifications, which shows your most important alerts first on Apple Intelligence-capable devices. This fourth major update to iOS 18 also adds Ambient Music, new emoji, and improved Control Center toggles for Visual Intelligence and Talk to Siri.

Apple continues to enhance the intelligence capabilities across its mobile operating systems. iOS 18.4 includes additional actions for various apps in the Shortcuts app, making everyday tasks more efficient. Users will also notice new toggles in Control Center, providing easier access to popular features.

All the New Features in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4

Apple’s iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates are more than your average bug-fix releases. They pack meaningful quality-of-life improvements, interface tweaks, and a few surprises that users have been asking for. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new and why it matters.

📌 Priority Notifications

One of the standout features in iOS 18.4 is Priority Notifications, a new layer of intelligent sorting that makes sure important alerts—like urgent messages, calendar events, or critical updates—don’t get buried under a pile of app noise. These priority alerts now sit at the top of your lock screen and notification center, giving them the visibility they deserve. This isn’t just a cosmetic change; it’s Apple doubling down on user-centric design by letting AI highlight what you actually need to see.

🌍 Expanded Apple Intelligence Language Support

Apple’s machine learning features—collectively known as Apple Intelligence—are now available in more languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. That means smarter suggestions, better autocorrections, more relevant Siri responses, and personalized app interactions for a wider global audience. Localized English options for India and Singapore were also introduced, showing Apple’s growing focus on regional optimization.

🥘 Apple News+ Food Section

For subscribers of Apple News+, there’s a new Food section that quietly launched in this update. Think of it as a curated feed of recipes, culinary tips, and articles from top-tier publications. There’s even a “Cook Mode” that walks you through recipes step by step in a clean, distraction-free format. It’s not a flashy addition, but it’s surprisingly useful—especially for users who have been leaning on their devices in the kitchen.

🎧 Ambient Sounds in Control Center

iOS 18.4 adds a dedicated Ambient Music control in the Control Center. Whether you’re winding down for the night or trying to focus during the workday, the new soundscape categories—like Sleep, Productivity, and Wellbeing—offer soothing audio designed to shape your mood. It’s built right into the OS, and unlike third-party apps, doesn’t require extra subscriptions or logins.

📸 Photos App Gets Smarter

Managing your photo library just got easier. The Photos app now includes new filters that let you quickly sort through photos shared by others, and isolate images that haven’t been assigned to any albums. In the Recently Deleted section, you’ll find one-tap options to permanently delete or restore all images—great for tidying up your storage without tapping through each item.

🤖 Robot Vacuum Support in Apple Home

Apple continues to push forward with smart home integrations. With iOS 18.4, robot vacuums can now be added to the Apple Home app if they support the Matter standard. You can start, stop, or schedule cleaning sessions and even include vacuums in HomeKit scenes. That means you can tell Siri, “I’m leaving,” and have your doors lock, lights turn off, and vacuum start its route—all with one command.

🧪 New Emojis

As with nearly every iOS release, iOS 18.4 brings a fresh batch of emojis. Some of the highlights include a splatter emoji, root vegetable, fingerprint, shovel, and even a bag-under-eyes emoji (relatable). These might seem like small additions, but for users who communicate visually, they keep everyday texting feeling fresh and expressive.

🆕 Apple Vision Pro Companion App

Apple is laying more groundwork for the Vision Pro ecosystem with a brand-new Vision Pro companion app now available on iPhone. The app serves as a discovery hub for Vision Pro apps, content, and system updates. It also lets you manage purchases, downloads, and configurations remotely. Even if you don’t own a Vision Pro yet, this app makes the ecosystem feel more accessible.

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iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 are a blend of thoughtful refinements and future-facing features. Whether you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem or just here for the quality-of-life updates, this release is one of the most meaningful mid-cycle upgrades in recent memory. From smarter notifications to a more intelligent Home app, it’s clear Apple is putting its user experience—and its AI—front and center.

Key Takeaways

• iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 introduce Priority notifications and Ambient Music features, improving how users interact with their devices.
• New Control Center toggles for Visual Intelligence and Talk to Siri make accessing these features more convenient.
• The update includes additional Shortcuts app actions and new emoji, enhancing both productivity and expression options.

Key Features in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4

Apple’s latest software update brings several improvements to both iPhone and iPad devices. These enhancements focus on notifications, visual intelligence, new emoji, and several app-specific upgrades that improve the overall user experience.

Priority Notifications and Control Center Improvements

iOS 18.4 expands Priority Notifications to all supported iPhone and iPad devices. This feature helps users identify and manage important alerts more effectively by distinguishing them from less urgent notifications.

The Control Center receives notable upgrades with new toggles for Visual Intelligence and Talk to Siri features. These additions make it easier to access these functions quickly without navigating through multiple menus.

Users can now customize their Control Center more effectively with these new toggles, allowing for faster access to frequently used features. The updated Control Center design maintains Apple’s clean interface while adding more functionality.

Changes to Photos and Camera Functions

Visual Intelligence receives significant enhancements in this update. New shortcuts make it easier to analyze images and extract information from photos with just a few taps.

The Photos app now offers improved organization capabilities and search functions. Users can find specific images more quickly based on content, location, or other criteria.

Camera functions have been refined to provide better image quality and processing. These improvements are particularly noticeable in challenging lighting conditions.

The update also includes backend optimizations that help reduce micro stutters when browsing large photo libraries, resulting in a smoother overall experience when viewing and managing images.

Siri and Ambient Music Enhancements

Siri gains new capabilities in iOS 18.4, including improved voice recognition and faster response times. The “Talk to Siri” feature now has a dedicated Control Center toggle for quick access.

Ambient Music represents one of the most interesting additions to the update. This feature provides context-aware music suggestions based on time of day, location, and user habits.

The music experience has been enhanced with better integration between Siri and various audio apps. Users can make more specific requests about songs, artists, and playlists.

Siri can now handle more complex commands related to music playback and other audio functions, making voice control more useful for everyday tasks.

New Safari and Apple News+ Updates

Safari receives performance improvements that make web browsing faster and more responsive. Page loading times have decreased, and overall stability has improved.

Apple News+ subscribers will notice several upgrades to the reading experience. The app now offers better article recommendations based on reading history and interests.

The update includes new formatting options for Apple News+ content, making articles easier to read on both iPhone and iPad screens. Text sizing and layout adjustments now work more consistently across different types of content.

New emoji characters have also been added to the keyboard, giving users more options for expressive communication in Safari, Messages, and other apps. These additions include new facial expressions, objects, and symbols that expand the emoji library.

Compatibility and Support

Apple’s iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates bring new features to a wide range of devices, maintaining compatibility with older models while offering enhanced integration across the Apple ecosystem.

Supported Devices for iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4

iOS 18.4 supports iPhones dating back to the iPhone XS and iPhone XR generations released in 2018. This includes the latest iPhone 16 lineup with all its variants, the iPhone 15 series (including the iPhone 15 Pro), and the budget-friendly iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generations).

For iPad users, iPadOS 18.4 works with iPad Pro models from 2018 onward, iPad Air (3rd generation and newer), iPad mini (5th generation and later), and iPad (7th generation and beyond).

Some features, particularly those related to Apple Intelligence, have more limited device compatibility. The new AI capabilities require devices with at least an A17 Pro chip or M-series processors, which means only iPhone 15 Pro models and newest iPads can access the full suite of intelligent features.

Integration with MacOS Sequoia and Apple Ecosystem

iOS 18.4 enhances cross-device functionality with MacOS Sequoia, allowing for smoother transitions when working across Apple devices. Users can start tasks on their iPhones and seamlessly continue on their Macs with improved Handoff capabilities.

The update strengthens the Continuity features that let users answer calls and messages from any device. AirDrop improvements make sharing files between iOS 18.4 devices and Mac computers running Sequoia faster and more reliable.

Apple has also expanded language support for features across the ecosystem. According to the release notes, Apple Intelligence now supports eight additional languages and two new English locales, making the ecosystem more accessible globally.

iCloud integration has been refined to ensure changes made on one device reflect instantly across all others in the ecosystem, particularly for shared documents and app data.

For Developers and Enthusiasts

iOS 18.4 brings several exciting features for developers and Apple enthusiasts who want to explore cutting-edge technologies. The update includes expanded tools for Vision Pro development and important changes to the beta program structure.

Developing with Image Playground and Apple Vision Pro

The iOS 18.4 update enhances support for Image Playground, giving developers more tools to create immersive visual experiences. Developers can now access improved APIs that allow for better integration with the Apple Vision Pro headset.

The SDK bundled with Xcode 16.3 provides comprehensive development resources for those working on spatial computing applications. Vision Pro developers will find new debugging tools that make it easier to test performance in different environments.

Image Playground’s machine learning capabilities have been expanded, letting developers create more sophisticated image generation and manipulation features. The documentation has been updated with additional code examples and best practices for optimizing Vision Pro applications.

Key improvements include:

• Enhanced spatial audio integration
• Better hand tracking precision
• Reduced latency for interactive elements
• New sample projects demonstrating visionOS capabilities

Participating in Developer and Public Betas

Apple has refined its beta program with iOS 18.4, making it easier for both developers and public testers to provide feedback. The developer beta now includes more detailed analytics that help identify performance issues earlier in the development cycle.

Security updates are more transparent in the beta versions, with clear documentation about what vulnerabilities have been addressed. This helps developers ensure their apps maintain proper security standards throughout the testing process.

Public beta participants can now provide feedback through a redesigned form that categorizes issues more effectively. The system helps Apple’s teams prioritize fixes based on user impact.

The beta update frequency has been adjusted to allow more thorough testing between releases. This change gives developers more time to adapt their apps to new features before the next beta arrives.

Additional Enhancements and Fixes

iOS 18.4 brings several quality-of-life improvements beyond the headline features, focusing on security, smart home functionality, and new content options for users.

Security Updates and Bug Fixes

Apple has included numerous security patches in iOS 18.4, addressing vulnerabilities that could affect system stability and user privacy. The update resolves several known issues that users reported in previous versions.

One notable fix addresses the intermittent connectivity problems some users experienced with Bluetooth devices. Apple has also patched a bug that occasionally caused keyboard lag when typing long messages.

The update adds support for child accounts with improved parental controls, giving families better options for managing screen time and app access. Parents can now set more granular permissions for their children’s devices.

Home automation received attention too, with iOS 18.4 adding support for controlling Matter-compatible robot vacuums directly from the Home app. Users can now schedule cleaning sessions and define zones without leaving Apple’s ecosystem.

Food in News+ and Recipe Features

Apple News+ subscribers will find a refreshed food section with expanded recipe content. The update introduces a more organized recipe catalog that makes finding dinner ideas simpler.

Recipes now include more detailed nutritional information and ingredient substitution options. Users can easily filter recipes by dietary preferences like vegetarian, keto, or gluten-free.

The update integrates these recipe features with Apple Fitness+, allowing users to find meals that complement their workout routines. Recommended pre-workout snacks and recovery meals appear based on completed exercises.

Apple has also improved recipe sharing. Users can now send recipes directly to family members through Messages, complete with ingredient lists that can be added to Reminders for grocery shopping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apple’s latest iOS update brings several new features and improvements. Users have been asking about specific changes and what they can expect when upgrading to iOS 18.4.

What new features are introduced in iOS 18.4?

iOS 18.4 introduces several noteworthy additions. The update includes expanded Apple Intelligence features, upgrades to Apple News, and new emoji characters.

CarPlay has received improvements that enhance the driving experience. The update also includes a new Apple Vision Pro app for compatible devices.

Apple Intelligence now offers Priority Notifications, which sorts your alerts to show the most important ones first. This helps manage the flood of notifications many users experience.

How does iOS 18.4 impact battery performance on compatible devices?

The update appears to maintain battery efficiency similar to previous versions. Most users report no significant changes to battery life after installing iOS 18.4.

Apple has included optimization improvements that help manage power consumption while using the new features. Background processes have been refined to reduce unnecessary battery drain.

Users with older iPhone models may want to monitor battery performance after updating to ensure compatibility.

What are the changes to emojis and character sets in iOS 18.4?

iOS 18.4 adds several new emoji options to the keyboard. These include new expressions and objects that expand communication options.

The character sets have been updated to support more diverse representations. This continues Apple’s commitment to inclusive design in their emoji selections.

These new emoji are available system-wide and can be used in all compatible messaging apps.

When was iOS 18.4 officially made available for download?

iOS 18.4 was officially released to the public in March 2025. The release followed a beta testing period where developers and public beta testers evaluated the software.

The update is available for all compatible iPhone models. Users can download it through the Settings app under Software Update.

Apple typically releases updates in phases, so some users may see the update available slightly later than others.

Are there any improvements to Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.4?

Apple Intelligence has received significant improvements in iOS 18.4. The Priority Notifications feature helps users see their most important alerts first.

Language support has expanded to include eight additional languages and two English locales. This makes Apple Intelligence accessible to more users worldwide.

The system now operates more efficiently and integrates with more apps. These improvements make AI features more useful in everyday tasks.

What should users expect in terms of security updates in iOS 18.4?

iOS 18.4 includes important security patches that address vulnerabilities from previous versions. These updates protect user data and privacy.

Apple has strengthened encryption methods for sensitive information. The company recommends all users update to maintain the highest level of security.

The security improvements work behind the scenes to safeguard personal information without disrupting the user experience.