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Apple updates all its operating systems, brings Apple Intelligence to Vision Pro

Updates bring new emoji, Mail organization for Macs, easier Mac setup, and more.

Andrew Cunningham | 83
Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple
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Apple dropped a big batch of medium-size software updates for nearly all of its products this afternoon. The iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, tvOS 18.4, and visionOS 2.4 updates are all currently available to download, and each adds a small handful of new features for their respective platforms.

A watchOS 11.4 update was also published briefly, but it's currently unavailable.

For iPhones and iPads that support Apple Intelligence, the flagship feature in 18.4 is Priority Notifications, which attempts to separate time-sensitive or potentially important notifications from the rest of them so you can see them more easily. The update also brings along the handful of new Unicode 16.0 emoji, a separate app for managing a Vision Pro headset (similar to the companion app for the Apple Watch), and a grab bag of other fixes and minor enhancements.

The Mac picks up two major features in the Sequoia 15.4 update. Users of the Mail app now get the same (optional) automated inbox sorting that Apple introduced for iPhones and iPads in an earlier update, attempting to tame overgrown inboxes using Apple Intelligence language models.

The Mac is also getting a long-standing Quick Start setup feature from the Apple Watch, Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. On those devices, you can activate them and sign in to your Apple ID by holding another compatible Apple phone or tablet in close proximity. Macs running the 15.4 update finally support the same feature (though it won’t work Mac-to-Mac, since a rear-facing camera is a requirement).

The Mail features are part of Apple Intelligence and so won't be supported on Intel Macs, but it's unclear whether Quick Start will be available.

The Mac version of Apple Intelligence continues to trail the iPhone’s version by an update or two. Apple isn’t adding the Priority Notifications feature from iOS 18.4 to the Mac just yet.

The VisionOS 2.4 update brings Apple Intelligence features to the Vision Pro headset, which has always had the hardware necessary to support them (it uses an Apple M2) but didn't get them at the same time as iPhones, iPads, and Macs did. This makes it the fourth of Apple's software platforms to support generative AI features like Genmoji, Image Playgrounds, Writing Tools, notification summaries, and more. The update also adds a demo-friendly Spatial Gallery app that will show off a rotating Apple-approved gallery of sample spatial images.

For people more interested in digging into the guts of the updates and finding out about security patches, Apple published release notes for developers (iOS/iPadOS, macOS) and security researchers that are more granular than the public release notes you'll see when you grab the updates.

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Andrew Cunningham Senior Technology Reporter
Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue.
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