iOS 18 was released to the public earlier this month, but the first Apple Intelligence features will not be available until iOS 18.1 is released in October.
Apple Intelligence features will continue to roll out in iOS 18.2 and beyond, with the expected roadmap outlined below per Apple's website and rumors.
Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro model or any iPhone 16 model, and it will initially require device and Siri language being set to U.S. English.
iOS 18.1
Here are some of the key Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 beta so far:
- A few Siri enhancements, including improved understanding for both follow-up requests and when you stumble over your words
- Writing tools for rewriting, summarizing, and proofreading text
- Notification summaries for Messages, Mail, and many other apps
- Suggested replies in the Messages and Mail apps
- A new "Clean Up" tool in the Photos app that can remove unwanted people or objects from photos and use generative AI to fill in the background
- The ability to create a Memories movie in the Photos app by typing a description
- Phone call recording and transcription
- A new Focus mode called Reduce Interruptions that surfaces important notifications only
See our full list of Apple Intelligence features included in the iOS 18.1 beta for even more.
iOS 18.2
Apple has been internally testing iOS 18.2 for at least a few months now, based on evidence of the software version in our website's analytics logs.
iOS 18.2 will likely be released in December, as that is when Apple said that it will be making Apple Intelligence available in localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. Similar updates like iOS 17.2 and iOS 16.2 were released in December.
Apple Intelligence in More Countries
As mentioned, iOS 18.2 will likely expand Apple Intelligence to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. for the first time.
Image Playground and Genmoji
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said two more Apple Intelligence features that were previewed earlier this year will be added in iOS 18.2, including Image Playground for generating images and Genmoji for generating custom emoji.
Here is how Apple describes Image Playground:
Produce fun, original images in seconds with the Image Playground experience right in your apps. Create an entirely new image based on a description, suggested concepts, and even a person from your Photos library. You can easily adjust the style and make changes to match a Messages thread, your Freeform board, or a slide in Keynote.
Here is how Apple describes Genmoji:
Make a brand-new Genmoji right in the keyboard to match any conversation. Provide a description to see a preview, and adjust your description until it's perfect. You can even pick someone from your Photos library and create a Genmoji that looks like them.
ChatGPT Integration With Siri
Apple said that ChatGPT will be available through Siri before the end of the year, so this integration will likely go live with iOS 18.2.
With user permission, Siri will be able to show ChatGPT answers directly in response to questions and other prompts. ChatGPT will also be an option for Apple's system-wide Writing Tools feature, allowing users to generate text and images. Apple said ChatGPT will be powered by OpenAI's latest GPT-4o model on its platforms.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac users will be able to use ChatGPT for free, without creating an account, and ChatGPT Plus subscribers will be able to connect their accounts to access paid features on these devices. Apple said OpenAI will not store ChatGPT requests made from its devices, and it said users' IP addresses will be obscured.
iOS 18.3
iOS 18.3 is likely to be a minor update released shortly after the U.S. holiday season. It is unclear if this version will add any new Apple Intelligence features.
Update: In his Power On newsletter on September 22, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple Intelligence's new Siri features are "in consideration" for iOS 18.3:
The biggest iOS 18 update after iOS 18.1 will be iOS 18.4, which will include many of the new Siri features (some are in consideration for iOS 18.3, I'm told).
iOS 18.4
Siri: Personal Context, On-Screen Awareness, and Deeper Per-App Controls
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said reiterated that Siri's ability to provide more personalized and contextual responses will not be available until March. He previously said that Siri's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls will be available as part of iOS 18.4, which is expected to be released to the public in March.
Apple Intelligence in Even More Countries
Apple said Apple Intelligence will gain support for additional languages — such as Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Vietnamese, and others — next year. This timeframe suggests these languages will be added in iOS 18.4. Another possibility is iOS 18.3, but that update is likely to be a minor one that is released shortly after the U.S. holiday season.
