iOS 18.2 just took another step toward its official release

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Yet another iOS update is ready, and this one is important. The iOS 18.2 beta 2 update is live, and it’s a big deal for a couple of reasons. It’s available to more people than the previous beta, and it indicates another step toward iOS 18.2’s public launch.

The first version of this beta was only available to people whose phones supported Apple Intelligence, but this latest version works with any phone that can update to iOS 18. Addditionally, iOS 18.2 beta 2 is only available to developer beta testers. There isn’t a public beta at the moment, and we have no word on when one might release. Still, it’s good to see that more people are included this time around.

The other big aspect is that this signals that Apple is getting closer to iOS 18.2’s final public release. We already know that the stable, public version of iOS 18.2 will likely arrive sometime in early December. The fact that we have another developer beta update is a great sign that the official release is drawing closer than ever.

So, what’s new in iOS 18.2 beta 2? The Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 models now supports focus and exposure lock controls. An update to the Find My app now allows you to share lost AirTags and other items with anyone. Another change includes the ability to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, the subscription program that enables larger image and file uploads, real-time conversations, and more to further improve how it works with Apple Intelligence.

Image Playground in iOS 18.2 Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends

Speaking of Apple Intelligence, all of the same new features added with the first iOS 18.2 update remain available in iOS 18.2 beta 2.

Image Playground lets you generate an image or animation from a prompt. Genmoji enables you to create custom emojis. The Writing Tools feature has been updated with a Compose button that will help you generate text on a given subject, and you can expand on that further with the “Describe your change” option.

Visual intelligence is another feature that uses the iPhone 16 camera to interpret the world around you, while the Image Wand in the Notes app will let you turn a rough, quick sketch into something you’re proud to show off. Say adios to the days of janky finger paintings. There’s also the updated Mail app which makes it so that your emails are categorized into four sections, similar to how Gmail already divides things up.