iOS 18's slow rollout will phase in Apple Intelligence over the next six months
by Charles Martin · AppleInsiderApple will be rolling out Apple Intelligence features to qualifying iPhones as quickly as it can, with as many as three updates before year's end. Some major components, including big changes to Siri, may have to wait until early 2025.
Apple has continued to emphasize the forthcoming Apple Intelligence features as a key element of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia, but the new technology is coming in bits across late 2024 and into early 2025. One of the biggest pieces of the new updates is a totally revamped and more personal Siri, but the biggest upgrades to it will be among the last new features to arrive.
Bloomberg is reporting that iOS 18.2 and iOS 18.3 are planned to roll out in December, following the release of iOS 18.1 in mid-October. The first big update to iOS 18 should coincide with a second expected Apple Event that will feature new and updated Macs.
When the public release of iOS 18.1 arrives, it will bring only the first round of Apple Intelligence features with it. Email and Messages summaries and categorization, writing tools including summarizing and proofreading, a Clean Up feature for removing distracting objects from photos, and phone call recording and transcription will likely be the highlights.
The release of iOS 18.2 will likely come in early December, bringing some marquee features that users can dig into, including lock-screen notification prioritizing, Image Playground, and Genmoji. This release would likely also be the first to include ChatGPT integration with Siri, and will expand Apple Intelligence to use localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.
Apple plans iOS 18.3 as a relatively minor update to correct bugs in the features introduced in iOS 18.2, and the company is pushing for it to come out before the end of 2024. It may or may not add some of the new Siri features, such as Personal Context and deeper app integration.
Global expansion begins in early 2025
After the release of iOS 18.3, there will be a gap of months before the expected arrival of iOS 18.4, which should include all the upgraded Siri abilities and finally begin adding languages other than English. Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish are among the languages that should work natively with Apple Intelligence in the 18.4 update, expected sometime in March 2025.
The various updates to iOS 18 will still have some benefits for users on iPhone models that don't qualify for the raft of Apple Intelligence features, such as greater customization of controls. However, Apple is pushing hard to entice owners of older iPhones to upgrade.
Having discontinued the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max already, the company will focus on the iPhone 16 lineup over the course of 2024 and 2025 by repeatedly showcasing that all of iOS 18's main new features are part and parcel of Apple Intelligence.
Apple could also be taking a big risk by spreading out the features of Apple Intelligence, particularly with the delay of local languages and the subsequent effect on international sales. The company appears to be betting that instead of a big release with a slew of new features all at once, the slower rollout of new features will keep users engaged and in "new feature discovery" mode for much longer.
Being able to incorporate Apple Intelligence features into their own use cases over time rather than try and incorporate everything all at once could prove to be a benefit to users. The big downside is that Google's Android platform already has some similar AI features now, and will not be standing still on introducing new features of its own, which could turn into a serious competitive advantage for upcoming products.
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