Apple released the first public beta of iOS 18.4 on Feb. 24, more than a month after the company released iOS 18.3 to the public. While that update brought some important fixes to all iPhones, the latest beta brings a handful of new features to developers and public beta testers, like priority notifications.
Developers and beta testers with an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone will get a new feature called Priority Notifications with the iOS 18.4 beta.
“Apple Intelligence can show you notifications that may be important in a separate section on the Lock Screen, so you can catch up on what you may have missed,” Apple writes in the feature’s description. “You can still swipe up to view all notifications.”
Priority Notifications was off by default after I downloaded the update, but you can turn it on by going to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications and tapping the toggle next to Prioritize Notifications.
No need to find a playlist to study to now.
I love this addition to my iPhone because I always struggle with picking out a playlist at the beginning of my work day. Tapping the Productivity control makes it easy to play music when I’m waiting for my coffee to kick in and I don’t want to make a musical decision yet. However, I do wish all these controls could be grouped into one control or widget.
This is also an interesting addition to your iPhone considering your phone can already be turned into a white noise machine with Background Sounds. It feels like Apple is trying to make your iPhone the first device you turn to when you need some music to help you fall asleep or be more productive, potentially icing out other services that offer similar playlists, like Spotify or YouTube.
Apple News Plus costs $12 a month and gives you access to articles from major publications, puzzles and soon — recipes.
In the iOS 18.4 beta, subscribers can access a new section in Apple News called Food, which is filled with recipes from publications like Food & Wine, Good Food and more. Subscribers can save recipes to their devices to access them offline later, and a new cook mode will display instructions on full screen so you can easily follow along with recipes while in your kitchen.
You can set your Podcasts widget to just play episodes of your favorite show.
The iOS 18.4 beta also brings a few new updates to the Podcasts app. If you want to add a Podcasts widget to your home screen, you now have more options, including Shows and Library. Choosing a Shows widget will play episodes from a particular show you follow, and choosing a Library widget will play episodes from a list you specify in your library.
There are also two new settings in Podcasts in the latest beta, Podcasts Settings and Notification Settings. You can find these by opening the Podcasts app and tapping your profile image in the top-right corner of your screen. But these new settings don’t do anything in this beta no matter how many times you press them, so hopefully Apple adds functionality in a future update.
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