In October, Apple Intelligence features exited beta with the full rollout of iOS 18.1 to the public. However, not every one of the AI-powered capabilities Apple's promised is available right away. Instead, Apple is going with a staggered release, putting out some features right away with iOS 18.1 and rolling out the rest in updates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025.
As a reminder, Apple Intelligence is limited to select phones — the iPhone 16 models along with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Other iOS 18-compatible phones can download updates like iOS 18.1, though they won't be able to run any Apple Intelligence features. What's more, Apple Intelligence will also be made available through updates to iPadOS and macOS Sequoia released at the same time as Apple's iOS updates.
The new iPad mini, which also launched in October, is fully AI-capable with the integrated A17 Pro chip.
Rumored Apple Intelligence release dates
Apart from confirming the October launch of Apple Intelligence — or at least some parts of Apple Intelligence — Apple hasn't published a timeline for the rollout of AI to its hardware. Instead, most of what we know comes from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who reported on Apple's rollout plans in a PowerOn newsletter published at the end of September.
Gurman accurately predicted the full iOS 18.1 upgrade would exit its public beta and land on phones on October 28. Though he warned that several features wouldn't arrive until iOS 18.2 or later, echoing a previous report about the Apple Intelligence rollout timeline.
iOS 18.2 should add ChatGPT integration and introduce Genmoji, which uses AI to generate emojis based on inputted text or based on someone from your Photos library. That update should also bring Image Playground, Apple's answer to Google's Pixel Studio that lets you use AI to create images of yourself and others.
Apple is currently working on getting iOS 18.2 "down to zero-bug status in early November," Gurman said. If history stands, that means a release window should be sometime in December. Another update could also come before the holidays with iOS 18.3, but it's expected to be a reality minor one, and it's unclear if any other Apple Intelligence features will be added with it, according to a recent MacRumors report.
As for Apple's planned overhaul to its Siri virtual assistant, which promises to give users better contextual and personalized responses, don't expect that to be available until March with iOS 18.4, Gurman added.
iOS 18.1 Apple Intelligence features
Here's what you'll find when you upgrade to iOS 18.1.
- Writing tools: Available in any app on your iPhone where you input text, writing tools powered by Apple Intelligence let you fine-tune what you've written or give you inspiration to get started. Included tools let you check spelling and grammar, get summaries of text and generate rewrite suggestions tied to a specific tone.
- Photo features: You'll find a trio of improvements to the Photos app, starting with Clean Up, a tool that removes unwanted people and objects from your photos. A Memory Movie feature uses text prompts to create a slideshow from photos and videos in your library. And you can now search for old photos and videos using natural language.
- Summaries: All iOS 18-capable phones benefit from a new audio record capability added to iOS 18 Notes, but you can get auto-generated summaries of those recordings on Apple Intelligence-ready phones. Similarly, in Apple Intelligence, you can now record phone calls, with transcripts and summaries of your recorded calls available for reference.
- Siri: Big changes are coming to Siri over time, as the digital assistant will eventually be able to understand whatever's on your screen and take actions based on that. For now, the iOS 18.1 improvements to Siri are pretty significant in their own right, with Siri now appearing with a flash around the perimeter of your iPhone screen. Siri is smart enough to understand questions if you stop and correct yourself, and it can handle follow-up questions without you having to restate what you're asking about. Siri can also provide troubleshooting about Apple products in iOS 18.1.
- Mail: A wider reorganization of Mail is coming in iOS 18, with the app splitting your inbox into ones that are dedicated to personal messages, receipts, deals and newsletters. That's coming later this year, but iOS 18.1 now shows summaries of messages in your inbox instead of the first few lines of the message. (Notifications in iOS 18.1 summarize the gist of the alert, too.) Other Mail improvements include priority messages, which float messages with calls to action to the top of your inbox, and smart replies for when your responding to email.
As a reminder, you'll need one of the best iPhones like the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any of the latest iPhone 16 series to enjoy Apple Intelligence once it does begin to rollout.
