Waiting for Apple Intelligence in iOS 18? Here’s the Timeline for Upcoming AI Features

Apple launched its new iPhone 16 series on September 9, 2024. Exactly a week later, the Cupertino tech giant released the stable version of iOS 18 to the public, but it doesn’t have any Apple Intelligence features as of now. As Apple already mentioned, the first set of Apple Intelligence features will arrive with iOS 18.1, which is scheduled for October in US English. Apple’s suite of AI features will continue to roll out in iOS 18.2 and beyond. Now, Mark Gurman has shared an expected timeline for Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.

Apple Intelligence features will be available on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model. Initially, users will have to set the device and Siri language to U.S. English on their AI-compatible iPhones. Let’s have a look at how and when Apple plans to launch Apple Intelligence in different countries.

iOS 18.1

When Apple first announced the Apple Intelligence release date, it stated that the first set of AI features would only be available to the public in U.S. English via an iOS 18 version arriving in October. Apple might remove all the critical bugs in iOS 18.1 by the beginning of this week, so we can expect a stable iOS 18.1 release by the middle of October.

Here are all the features we will get to see in iOS 18.1:

• Writing Tools to rewrite, proofread, and summarise text.
• A few Siri improvements like a better understanding of follow-up requests and when you stumble over some words.
• Suggest replies in Mail and Messages apps.
• Notification Summaries in Mail, Messages, and more.
• Clean Up tool in the Photos app that can identify and remove distracting objects from a photo.
• Summarize web pages in Safari.
• A brand-new Reduce Interruptions Focus Mode.
• Phone call recording and transcription.
• Create Memories in the Photos app by typing a description.

iOS 18.2

Apple has been internally testing iOS 18.2 for a few months now. With the iOS 18.2 upgrade, the giant will expand Apple Intelligence features to localized English in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. Apple is planning to reach zero-bug status in early November, so we can expect iOS 18.2 to arrive sometime in December. 

Here’s what iOS 18.2 will bring:

• Genmoji: Previewed at WWDC, Apple’s AI-powered emoji creation feature will finally arrive in the iOS 18.2 update. Genmoji lets you create custom emojis for any occasion on your device using Apple Intelligence. All you have to do is type a simple description like “smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers”.
• Image Playground: With a dedicated Image Playground app, you can generate fun and original AI images on your compatible devices.
• ChatGPT Integration with Siri: With the user’s permission, Siri can interact with ChatGPT to fetch responses for you. Apple has integrated ChatGPT into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS and it will be a system-wide feature that can be accessed via Siri and many other first-party apps.

Other iOS 18.2 features are also in the works, which include notification prioritization on the lock screen and the new email app interface.

iOS 18.3

According to Mark Gurman, iOS 18.3 is likely to be a minor update which will be released shortly after the U.S. holiday season. At the moment, it is unclear if iOS 18.3 will add any major Apple Intelligence features. Gurman adds that many of the new Siri features are in consideration for iOS 18.3. So, might get to see a more polished and refined Siri.

iOS 18.4

Mark Gurman has always believed that some of the teased Siri features like understanding personal context, onscreen awareness, and deeper per-app controls might not be available until March 2025. He mentioned that these impressive Siri features will be reserved for iOS 18.4 which is expected to arrive sometime in March.

Apple plans to expand its forthcoming AI system to India (English), Singapore (English), Italy (Italian), Germany (German), Vietnam (Vietnamese), South Korea (Korean), and Portugal (Portuguese) in 2025. Based on this timeframe, it’s safe to assume that support for these languages will be added in iOS 18.4 update.

While it’s not uncommon for Apple to postpone some new features, this time things have gone a little weird. The staggered rollout of Apple Intelligence features is definitely a turn-off. Things go even worse due to the fact AI features aren’t even available right out of the box on the new iPhone 16 series, which is specially designed for AI.