Apple seeds release candidates for iOS 18.4, macOS 15.4

Examples of Apple Intelligence at work.

Apple has handed out the first release candidates for this generation of betas, with RC builds of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, tvOS 18.4, watchOS 11.4, and visionOS 2.4 now available.

The RC beta round follows after the fourth for iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, tvOS 18.4, watchOS 11.4, and visionOS 2.4, which shipped on March 17. The third appeared on March 10, the second landed on March 3, and the first round surfaced on February 21.

A release candidate is typically the last phase of a developer beta generation, with it effectively containing what should be provided to the public for the final release. While Apple aims to seed just one RC build of each operating system, this can sometimes stretch to a second.

The iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 RC developer betas share build number 22E239, replacing 22E5232a, while the macOS Sequoia 15.4 RC uses build number 24E246, up from 24E5238a.

The tvOS 18.4 RC build is 22L254, the watchOS 11.4 RC build is 22T250, and the visionOS 2.4 RC build is 22O237.

At the same time, Apple has issued release candidates for older operating systems. An RC build of iOS 17.7.6 is out with build 21H423, while macOS 14.7.5’s RC is build 23H527, and the RC for macOS 13.7.5 is build 22H527

The additions to the first build in iOS 18.4 included updates to Apple Intelligence, such as localization support, Image Playground’s new sketch style, and priority notification adjustments.

The Apple Vision Pro benefited from a new iOS app, explaining how to use the headset and helping with content discovery.

The Apple News+ subscription added food content, Control Center added new Ambient Music controls, and minor changes were made to Apple Maps, Apple Wallet, CarPlay, Mobile Device Management, Podcasts, and Siri.

The initial iPadOS build added on-device email categorization, which also appeared on macOS Sequoia 15.4. Apple Vision Pro itself gained support for Apple Intelligence in the first visionOS 2.4 beta build.

The second round of builds added new emoji characters, introduced Visual Intelligence to the iPhone 15 Pro, and a Control Center section just for Apple Intelligence features.

The App Store gained additional download options, including a new “pause” download button. There were also changes to the Shortcuts app and indications that CarPlay could have an update for EV route planning in the future.

The Wallet app added a new menu icon for accessing in-app settings and order management. Orange users in France also saw the RCS protocol enabled in the beta.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly recommend that users do not install beta operating systems or other software being tested onto “mission-critical” or primary hardware, due to the ever-present danger of bugs and issues that could result in the loss of data. As always, testers should use secondary or non-essential devices and ensure they have sufficient backups of any critical data.

Find any changes in the new builds? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at andrew@AppleInsider.com.

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