iPhone owners shouldn’t have to wait much longer to test out Apple’s smarter version of Siri, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that iOS 18.4 beta 1 will be released “between the middle of next week and early the following week.”
Earlier this week, we were speculating about the timing of the next iOS beta. Over the last four years, the first x.4 beta has typically arrived within three days of the x.3 update. Meanwhile, iOS 18.3 has been available for 11 days already, but Gurman expects Apple to roll out iOS 18.4 beta 1 in the next week or so. It’s not especially surprising that the company is taking its time with the update, as it should be the most significant of the iOS 18 cycle.
As a refresher, iOS 18.4 is expected to include a Siri upgrade, allowing it to understand personal context, retrieve content onscreen, and perform more actions across apps. There’s a chance the upgrade won’t be fully operational in beta 1, but we’ll find out soon.
Other features in iOS 18.4 include support for more languages in Apple Intelligence, updates for Priority Notifications, and a new Sketch style in Image Playground.
An already busy week for Apple will get even busier if iOS 18.4 beta 1 is scheduled to arrive by Friday. In addition to the software update, Apple is also expected to reveal the iPhone SE 4 and the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds with a heart rate sensor next week.
