iOS 18.3 First beta available for developers

As soon as iOS 18.2 was released, Apple started the beta test of iOS 18.3. The first developer version brings new features and improvements. A look at the beta shows what innovations users can expect and when the final release can be expected.

New beta round for iOS and Co.

Apple doesn’t waste any time and has already released iOS 18.2 shortly after the release First developer version of iOS 18.3 released. In addition to iOS 18.3, beta versions of iPadOS 18.3, macOS 15.3, watchOS 11.3, tvOS 18.3 and visionOS 2.3 are also available for developers.

The new iOS version has build number 22D5034e and is expected to be the last beta version this year. Due to the upcoming Christmas break at Apple, the second beta is not expected until January. The final release of iOS 18.3 and the other operating systems is not expected until February or even March 2025.

Siri is getting smarter

How Apple Insider reports the first beta of iOS 18.3 already contains some interesting innovations. One of the main improvements concerns Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. In the future, Siri should be able to evaluate contextual information such as chat histories or email content.

However, these improvements are still in their early stages. iOS 18.3 does not yet start with the new development of the language model on which the AI ​​is based, known internally as “LLM Siri”. According to insiders, this completely redesigned version of Siri is not expected until late 2025 or early 2026 at the earliest.

Further improvements

In addition to the Siri improvements, the beta mainly contains bug fixes. This fixed an issue with Genmoji where personalized images could not be generated without first selecting another person. The Writing Tools API, which is used by third-party apps, is also getting a bug fix update.

Apple continues to build on the concept of implementing expanded language capabilities through an optional ChatGPT connection. This feature was recently introduced with iOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2, but is currently only available in select regions.

Installing iOS 18.3 – here’s how to do it now

To install the preliminary version of iOS 18.3, you have to Be enrolled in Apple’s developer program. Apple has for developer testing an overview page started where you can view all new developer versions that have been released. It is advisable to back up the data before installation.