iOS 18.4 Set to Transform Your iPhone with Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

iOS 18.4 Update Overview

Priority Notifications

• Feature: Apple Intelligence can now surface the most important notifications in a separate section on the Lock Screen, allowing users to catch up on what they may have missed.
• Management: Users can manage this feature via the Settings app, including adding or removing specific apps from priority sorting.
• Hardware Support: Available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models.

Ambient Music

• Feature: iOS 18.4 introduces four new ambient music options: Wellbeing, Chill, Productivity, and Sleep.
• Control Center Integration: These can be added to Control Center, assigned to the Action button, or placed on the Lock Screen.
• Customization: Users can customize these options with default Apple Music playlists or their own playlists.
• Controls: A pared-down Now Playing interface is provided for play/pause, skip, volume adjustment, and AirPlay control.

New Emoji

• Additions: Seven new emoji have been added to the iOS keyboard: face with bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.
• Context: These additions come in an era where users can already create infinite emoji using Genmoji.

Apple News+ Food

• Feature: The Apple News app now includes a dedicated 'Apple News+ Food' feature with curated recipes from top publishers.
• Functionality: Users can browse, search, and filter tens of thousands of recipes. The interface is designed for easy review of ingredients and directions, with a new cook mode that displays step-by-step instructions in full screen.
• Additional Features: Recipes can be saved for later and accessed offline.

Conclusion

• Release Date: iOS 18.4 will be released to the public in April.
• Other Updates: Additional features are available, and a dedicated guide is provided for further exploration.