Everything new in iOS 18.4: Apple Intelligence features, Photos updates, Vision Pro app, and security fixes

iOS 18.4, the fourth major update to iOS 18, is now available for iPhone users, bringing a host of new features, Apple Intelligence enhancements, and quality-of-life improvements. This update refines the user experience with smarter notifications, expanded language support, new ways to manage your photos, and even support for robot vacuums in the Home app.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of what iOS 18.4 has to offer.

Apple Intelligence

iOS 18.4 focuses heavily on expanding the capabilities of Apple Intelligence, making iPhones smarter and more intuitive.

Priority Notifications

iOS 18.4 introduces a “Priority Notifications” feature that intelligently sorts your notifications, ensuring that the most important ones are displayed prominently at the top of your Lock Screen’s notification center.
This feature is designed to reduce notification clutter and help users quickly identify urgent alerts, such as important messages, calendar events, or critical updates.
Users can enable Priority Notifications in Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications.
Priority Notifications can also be configured on a per-app basis.

Visual Intelligence

Visual Intelligence, previously limited to iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, is now available on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

This feature allows users to interact with and analyze images using Apple Intelligence.
On the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, Visual Intelligence can be activated via the Control Center or by assigning it to the Action Button.
The Control Center now includes a dedicated “Apple Intelligence” section with options for Type to Siri, Talk to Siri, and Visual Intelligence.

Image Playground Sketch style

Image Playground gains a new “Sketch” style, joining the Animation and Illustration styles.
This expands the creative possibilities within Image Playground, allowing users to generate images with a distinct sketch aesthetic.
Users can swap between styles by tapping the (+) button in the Image Playground app.

New Apple Intelligence languages

Apple Intelligence expands its language support to include:

French (France, Canada)
German (Germany)
Italian (Italy)
Japanese (Japan)
Korean (South Korea)
Portuguese (Brazil)
Simplified Chinese
Spanish (Spain, Latin America, US)
Localized English for Singapore and India

Apple Vision Pro app

For users with a Vision Pro headset, iOS 18.4 introduces a dedicated “Vision Pro” app on the iPhone.

This app facilitates content discovery, allowing users to browse and download apps, spatial experiences, and Apple TV content for their Vision Pro.
The Vision Pro app also provides access to a user guide, tips, and a “My Vision Pro” section.
Guest setup for Vision Pro can now be managed from an iPhone or iPad, simplifying the process of sharing the headset with others.

Apple News+ Food

Apple News+ subscribers gain access to a new “Food” section within the Apple News app.
This section offers a curated collection of recipes, restaurant reviews, healthy eating tips, and kitchen essentials.
Content comes from reputable food publishers, including Allrecipes, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Good Food, and Serious Eats.
The Food section includes a Recipe Catalog for easy browsing and searching, and a “Cooking Mode” provides step-by-step recipe instructions.

Ambient Music

iOS 18.4 introduces an “Ambient Music” feature that can be added to Control Center.

Ambient Music provides access to curated playlists designed to enhance different moods and activities.
Four sound categories are available: Sleep, Chill, Productivity and Wellbeing
Each category offers a selection of ambient sounds and music, such as “Piano Chill,” “Pure Focus,” and “Pure Meditation.”

Photos app

The Photos app receives several updates to improve library management and organization.

New filters allow users to show or hide items that are not contained in an album or that were synced from a Mac or PC.
Users can reorder items in the Media Types and Utilities collections.
Consistent filtering options are now available across all collections, including the ability to sort by oldest or
newest first.
Albums can now be sorted by Date Modified.
A toggle in Photos Settings allows users to disable the “Recently Viewed” and “Recently Shared” collections.
Hidden photos are no longer included for import to Mac or PC if Face ID is enabled in Photos settings.
The “Recently Deleted” section now offers one-tap options to delete all photos or recover all photos.

New emoji

Face with bags under eyes
Fingerprint
Leafless tree
Root vegetable
Harp
Shovel
Splatter

CarPlay

On compatible vehicles with larger screens, the CarPlay Home Screen will now display three rows of app icons instead of two.
A new API allows sports apps to display scores within a new Now Playing interface.
In the European Union, users can now set a default navigation app for both their iPhone and CarPlay.

Additional Features and Changes

iOS 18.4 also includes a variety of other enhancements and changes across different apps and system features.

Privacy indication dots

The small dots indicating camera or microphone usage on the iPhone’s menu bar have been moved next to the Wi-Fi symbol and are now more prominent against a black background.
This update is designed to make it easier for users to detect when these sensors are active, improving privacy awareness.

Siri and Control Center

The Control Center includes new options for “Type to Siri” and “Talk to Siri.”
When using Type to Siri, the keyboard now collapses when Siri provides an answer.
There is a new toggle to activate Type to Siri with the side button.
Two new Australian voices have been added for Siri.

App Store

The App Store now provides summaries of user reviews to give users a quick overview of app feedback.
Users can now pause and resume app downloads and updates directly from the App Store update list.

Passwords

In the Passwords app, verification codes for two-factor authentication now display a countdown circle to indicate when a new code will be generated.

Podcasts

New widgets are available for Podcasts, including a “Followed Shows” widget and a “Library” widget.
The Podcasts app now includes new options for Podcasts Settings and Notification Settings within the user’s profile.

Shortcuts

The Shortcuts app includes new actions for various Apple apps, allowing users to automate more app settings.
New actions are available for apps such as Maps, Safari, Reminders, Calendar, Apple TV, Books, Notes, Voice Memos, and Weather.
A new Shortcuts action allows users to open a specific conversation in the Messages app.

Wallet

There is an updated menu in that Wallet app that includes Orders, Settings, and Subscriptions and Payments.
It can be accessed by tapping on the three dots in the upper right corner, which used to be just for package tracking.
This provides a more centralized location for managing various aspects of your Wallet.

Safari

Safari now displays a list of recent searches when tapping the address bar. This can be disabled in Settings > Safari > Show Recent Searches.
Long-pressing on an App Store link in Safari now displays an updated design for App Store link previews.
Safari includes a new Connection Security Details interface that allows users to view website certificates for security information.

HomeKit

iOS 18.4 adds support for Matter-compatible robot vacuums in the Home app. This allows users to control robot vacuums, add them to scenes, and include them in automations.

Mail (iPadOS)

iPadOS 18.4 brings the Mail app’s categorization feature to the iPad.
The Mail app now organizes incoming emails into categories such as Primary, Orders, Newsletters, Deals, and Social.

Other features and improvements

The animation when swiping out of the Notification Center is now smoother.
Additional camera apps that can be selected for the Camera Control feature on iPhone 16 models are now listed in a separate Camera App section.
If you have the Back Tap Accessibility option turned on, there is now a notification when a double tap or triple tap action is performed.
In the Apple Maps Settings, there is a new option to set a Preferred Language.
The Cellular and Wi-Fi toggles in Control Center now display signal strength represented in bars.
The Brightness and Sound toggles in Control Center have been tweaked and will now change color when the sliders are lowered below the position of the icons.
The Focus option in Control Center now has two small arrows that serve as a visual indicator that more options that can be accessed.
There is a new feature that allows a nearby iPhone or iPad to be used to sign into a Mac with an Apple Account for setting up a new Mac. macOS Sequoia 15.4 is also required.
There is an option to set a different Translation app as the default in the Default Apps section of the Settings app. In the EU, there is also an option to choose a different Navigation app.

Security updates

Apple’s security releases support page lists 59 security fixes.
These fixes address vulnerabilities in various components of iOS, including core libraries and frameworks, the kernel, and common apps.

How to update to iOS 18.4

Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap on General.
Tap on Software Update.
Your iPhone will check for available updates
If iOS 18.4 is available, tap on Download and Install.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update.

Download iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 firmware files