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When will Apple start beta testing iOS 18.4?

Published Feb 5th, 2025 4:22PM EST
Apple Intelligence on iPhone 16
Image: José Adorno for BGR

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Now that iOS 18.3 has been available for almost two weeks now, we’re all wondering what the release date of iOS 18.4 beta 1 will be. Unlike the previous version, iOS 18.4 is expected to be one of the most important updates of the iOS 18 cycle. That said, here’s what we know about iOS 18.4 and when Apple could start beta testing it.

iOS 18.4 beta 1 release date based on previous x.4 updates

It’s been almost ten days since Apple released iOS 18.3. In the past, this is how long Apple has taken to start beta testing an x.4 update after releasing an x.3 update:

  • iOS 17.4: 3 days
  • iOS 16.4: 24 days
  • iOS 15.4: 1 day
  • iOS 14.4: 2 days

With iOS 13.4, Apple took an incredible 57 days to start beta testing it. However, you shouldn’t have to worry about waiting that long, as the company promised Apple Intelligence would expand to more languages in April, confirming iOS 18.4 will launch by then.

In addition, iOS 16.4 wasn’t a very notable update, with the most impressive features being new emoji and Crash Detection optimization. With that in mind, there wasn’t a good reason for the company to delay the start of its beta testing.

That said, BGR has reason to believe Apple could seed iOS 18.4 beta 1 any day now. While previous x.4 betas had two to five builds, it’s possible that Apple will spend longer testing this upcoming version, as it has important in store for iOS as a whole.

iPhone 16Image source: José Adorno for BGR

These are the most important features we hope Apple adds in iOS 18.4

Unlike the previous versions, iOS 18.4 is expected to open the path for a truly competitive Siri, a personal assistant that can finally understand context and look through your messages and apps to find precisely what you need. While it’s unclear if these features will be ready in iOS 18.4 beta 1, the company will likely start adding these Apple Intelligence improvements over the coming months.

In this update, Apple says its AI platform will support Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Apple is also expected to offer other minor features, such as creating images in Image Playground in Sketch style and a better display of Priority Notifications across Apple and third-party apps. Finally, new emojis might be available with this update.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.