Apple Intelligence is being delayed until iOS 18.1

Apple Intelligence is being delayed. Apple’s artificial intelligence features, including an upgraded Siri, will be part of iOS 18, the next version of Apple’s operating system. However, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, these features won’t appear in the first version of the software, iOS 18.0, which will be released in September. Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features will be rolled out as part of the iOS 18.1 update, which won’t make an appearance until October. Some features, including the improved Siri, will be held back even longer and won’t be released until next year.

This means that if you buy one of the new iPhone 16 models at launch, it won’t come with Apple Intelligence included. If you’re an iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max user, the only current phones that will be able to run Apple Intelligence, then you’ll also have to wait until October before you can use these features. However, developers will finally be getting their first opportunity to try out Apple Intelligence, with the features appearing in the iOS 18.1 developer beta this week.

Apple needs more time to iron out bugs

It needs to get Apple Intelligence right

Apple

According to Gurman, the decision to hold back Apple Intelligence features from the initial release of iOS 18 is due to worries about the stability of the features. The company is making the preview of iOS 18.1 available much earlier than is usually the case in order to give plenty of time for developers to test out the features so that any issues can be identified and fixed before Apple Intelligence is released to the general public.

Apple Intelligence is a huge part of the iOS 18 update. Apple is undoubtedly hoping that the fact that these new AI features will only run on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max of the current models will see more people be tempted to upgrade to the new iPhone 16 models so that they can try to get access to Apple Intelligence.

Someone who bought an iPhone 15 last year, for example, may usually wait a couple of years before upgrading, but may be tempted to upgrade to an iPhone 16 in order to use Apple Intelligence. The fact that the iPhone 16 models won’t be launching with Apple Intelligence shows that Apple are more concerned with getting the features right than they are with getting them out as soon as possible.

You’ll have to wait even longer for some Apple Intelligence features

Powerful Siri features won’t be released until next year

Apple/Pocket-lint

Prior to this news, the expectation was that Apple Intelligence features would launch with iOS 18.0. However, it has already been reported that several of the Apple Intelligence features showcased at WWDC 24 will not be coming until Spring 2025.

We’ll need to wait until next year for some of the biggest improvements to Siri. Her ability to perform actions within apps or across apps won’t be coming until 2025, for example. Eventually, you’ll be able to open a photo, ask Siri to edit it and then add it to a message in the Messages app, all with one request, but this capability won’t be here until the spring.

On-screen awareness, which will allow you to reference information visible on the screen when talking to Siri, will also be delayed until next year. This feature will allow you to ask Siri to create a new contact from an address that you’ve been sent in a WhatsApp message simply by having that message open when you ask her.

However, it’s likely that Siri’s ability to turn to ChatGPT to answer more complex queries will be arriving in iOS 18.1 this year. We’ll know more about exactly which features will be included in the October update once the developer beta drops.