- A new Sudoku game is now available in the iOS 18.2 developer beta
- It joins three other puzzles for Apple News Plus subscribers
- iOS 18.1 is rolling out to users this week
With the developer beta version of iOS 18.2 now in testing, we’re getting a proper look at what it’ll bring with it – and alongside some smart Apple Intelligence tricks (including ChatGPT integration), we’re also getting a (gasp) new Sudoku puzzle game that appears as part of an Apple News Plus subscription.
As spotted by vlogger Chris Carley (via 9to5Mac), the new puzzle game adds to the three games that were already available to subscribers to the news app since the launch of iOS 17 last year: Quartiles, Crossword, and Crossword mini.
Apple is clearly hoping that puzzle games can help attract more users to Apple News Plus. Costing $12.99 / £12.99 / AU$19.99 (and also available as part of an Apple One bundle), the subscription gives you access to over 400 digital newspapers and magazines.
If you’re not familiar with it, Sudoku gives you a 3 x 3 grid of boards, each one split up into another 3 x 3 grid. Players must fill every square with a single-digit number, ensuring that every individual 3 x 3 grid, every row, and every column has all the numbers 1 to 9 in any order. It’s simple, but rather addictive.
More value for money
Apple clearly wants to replicate some of the success the New York Times has had with its own collection of games. That collection includes Wordle of course – you may recall the NYT paid an undisclosed sum to buy Wordle back at the start of 2022.
As you may have spotted while browsing the site, here at TechRadar we’re fans of the NYT Connections, NYT Strands, and NYT Wordle games, and they all have a certain stickiness that keeps people coming back. When you’re trying to sell digital subscriptions, like Apple is, that’s important.
There’s plenty more coming with iOS 18.2 as well, including more options for setting default apps, and hiding (or removing) stock Apple apps. The Visual Intelligence search tool is part of the software update, as are new AI-powered filters for your inbox.
It’s not clear how long beta testing for iOS 18.2 will last, but the final and public version shouldn’t be too far off. This week, Apple is rolling out iOS 18.1 to users, which brings with it the first Apple Intelligence features for those in the US with compatible iPhones – including a smarter Siri and generative AI writing tools.