Arguably the most exciting feature of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS 15 is Apple Intelligence, the brand Apple has chosen for its own particular suite of personal, mostly on-device, privacy-protected AI features.
But when you update your devices in September, you’ll probably be wondering where all the AI features are. First, because Apple Intelligence will only work on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (or later) and M-series Macs and iPads, but also because many of the cool features you’ve heard about simply aren’t there.
The best bits of Apple Intelligence won’t be available at launch. Some will arrive later in 2024 via software updates, and others in 2025. This is sort of a slow rollout of AI features over the lifespan of iOS 18, and we’ll likely be downloading updates with new AI features until it’s almost time for WWDC next year.
Here’s a look at what features are coming and when.
Updated July 30: With the release of the iOS 18.1 beta, the release schedule for some features has shifted. This article has been updated to reflect what we know so far.
Available with iOS 18.1
None of the Apple Intelligence features will arrive with iOS 18 in September. It won’t be until iOS 18.1, about a month later, that the first features will roll out. These features will likely be released with a “beta” designation, to warn users that there may be some minor issues.
Siri’s new interface:A light border around the entire screen and the ability to type requests to Siri.
Siri Natural Conversation:Siri’s ability to understand you better, even when you make a mistake in what you say, and to remember the context of previous requests.
Writing assistance:Rewrite passages and create summaries and lists.
Call recording and transcription:Record a call, view a transcript, and generate a summary.
Math Notes:Write complex equations with variables and adjust them on the fly. On the iPad, it can even sort of mimic (and clean up) your handwriting.
Messaging features: Email summaries in notifications and inbox, priority emails at the top, and the ability to create an email summary and threads.
Safari Summaries: From reading mode, summarize a web page.
Coming later in 2024
The features we’re expecting at launch, in beta form, are pretty interesting. But there are a few notable gaps that won’t arrive until late 2024.
Image generation:Genmoji and other image generators, as well as the Image Playground app.
Cleaning tool: Remove unwanted background elements in Photos.
Advanced features of the Mail app:Automatically categorize emails and create digests for groups of similar emails.
Swift Assist Programming Companion:An AI coding tool in Xcode that helps you write code or answer coding questions.
ChatGPT Integration:Apple’s marketing materials aren’t very clear on this, but it appears that ChatGPT integration is a feature “coming later this year.”
Other general iOS 18 features, not related to AI, will be available after the initial launch. You can read all about them here.
Coming in 2025
The first half of next year is when Apple Intelligence will really shine, as it will add some core Siri features that will take it to the next level. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the plan is to launch a developer beta with these features in January 2025, with the public release coming in iOS 18.4 a few months later.
Siri on-device contextual recognition:Siri’s ability to provide insightful responses based on data found in Messages, Mail, Contacts, and other information on the device.
Siri on-screen recognition: Siri will be able to see what’s on your screen when you ask it to perform a task and take that information into account.
Siri App Control:A major expansion of App Intents, which will allow Siri to perform actions within your apps. Currently limited to things like playing music or getting directions, Siri will be able to perform hundreds of actions within apps. This will start with Apple’s own apps and expand to third-party apps over time.
Of course, all of this is subject to change depending on how smoothly Apple’s AI development progresses and how beta testing progresses. Even if all goes well, these advanced AI features will only be available in US English (though it’s not yet clear whether US English speakers abroad will be able to access them). It could take years for many more languages and regions to be supported, as the AI’s massive language models require extensive training and massive amounts of data for each supported language.
