On Monday, Apple launched the iOS 18.4 update for iPhones, introducing a wide array of new features. This update includes Priority Notifications, additional toggles in the Control Centre, and the incorporation of Visual Intelligence for the iPhone 15 Pro models. Notably, it also presents two significant new features for the App Store aimed at enhancing user experience when selecting and managing app downloads.
New App Store Features in iOS 18.4
The iOS 18.4 update adds two key features to the App Store: Review Summaries and the ability to pause app downloads. According to Apple, the Review Summaries feature utilizes large language models (LLMs) to distill user feedback on app pages, presenting highlights and key insights in a format labeled Automatically summarised from reviews.
This function provides a concise summary, allowing users to quickly grasp the essence of an app without needing to read through all individual reviews. Apple confirms that Review Summaries will be updated “at least” once a week for apps and games that accumulate a sufficient number of reviews. Users can also interact with the summary by tapping and holding it if they find any discrepancies.
This new feature is being rolled out gradually and is initially available in English for a select number of apps and games in the US. There has been no announcement regarding its availability in other languages or regions just yet.
In addition to Review Summaries, users will now have the option to pause app downloads—a convenience that addresses issues of poor internet connectivity or network congestion. Prior to this update, users had to entirely stop a download if they encountered problems, which often reset the progress, especially with larger apps. The new pause function allows for a more seamless downloading experience.
Alongside these enhancements, the iOS 18.4 update also introduces ambient mode, Visual Intelligence enhancements on the iPhone 15 Pro models, a new Apple Vision Pro app, updated Control Centre toggles, and a variety of new emojis.
