iOS 18.1 with the first wave of Apple Intelligence features is out now

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS edited 11:45AM

Apple has released iOS 18.1, the first major update to iOS 18 that includes the first wave of Apple Intelligence features usable by the public.

Hand holding a smartphone displaying a colorful app-filled home screen against a plain background.
Apple Intelligence's Siri animation on an iPhone



The initial release of iOS 18 took place on September 16, but it lacked Apple's headline feature, Apple Intelligence. With the just-released update to iOS 18.1, some of the functionality is finally becoming available to use.

Apple has been beta-testing Apple Intelligence's tools since not long after the first beta of iOS 18. Since the start of the betas, including the eventual public betas, Apple has included some of the features, and gradually added more over time.

With the public release, this marks the first time that Apple Intelligence has left beta and is now usable by the general public.

The initial features to surface in the betas included writing tools, which could proofread text, summarize it, and even rewrite it in a different style. At the same time, Apple introduced a new Siri animation, as well as Type to Siri and built-in product knowledge so users could ask Siri for help.



The third beta added in Clean Up for Photos, which used generative AI to make changes to a user's photographs without any major manual effort required.

Other Apple Intelligence features are still in development. This list includes Image Playground graphic generation from prompts, as well as ChatGPT support with Siri.

Outside of Apple Intelligence, there are some changes made to the operating system usable by others. This includes a new Camera Control option for the iPhone 16 that lets users switch to the front camera.

Control Center gains new toggles for connectivity and a reset layout button. Users of iPhone Mirroring can also drag and drop files from their Mac onto their iPhone and vice versa.

iOS 18.1: Compatibility and Installation



The release of iOS 18.1 will work on iPhone models that support iOS 18. This includes iPhones from the iPhone XS and iPhone XR to the present iPhone 16 releases, as well as the second-gen iPhone SE or later models.

Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, or the iPhone 15 Pro lines, in order to function. Other models will benefit from all other non-Apple Intelligence features.

To install iOS 18.1 on an iPhone, open the Settings app, select General, then Software Update. With beta updates turned off, the final release version will appear unless it has already been installed.

Owners of the iPhone 16 generation won't need to update, as iOS 18.1 will be preinstalled.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 3,003member
    THAT’S funny. I updated my iPad and the very first thing I did was to see about disabling Apple Intelligence. What I found was a sign saying “Apple Intelligence is not available when Siri is set to English (Ireland)”. Wow, it failed to meet even my low expectations. 
    muthuk_vanalingamwilliamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 8
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,196member
    DAalseth said:
    THAT’S funny. I updated my iPad and the very first thing I did was to see about disabling Apple Intelligence. What I found was a sign saying “Apple Intelligence is not available when Siri is set to English (Ireland)”. Wow, it failed to meet even my low expectations. 
    This is covered in an Apple support document:

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/121115

    Support for English (Ireland) is coming in December per the aforementioned support document. Feel free to contact Apple technical support for further clarification.

    Naturally many tech media sites have covered initial Apple Intelligence requirements ad nauseam. Here is one such article from 9to5Mac:

    https://9to5mac.com/requirements-to-get-apple-intelligence-features/

    Best of luck.
    edited 12:29PM williamlondon
  • Reply 3 of 8
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,196member
    Unsurprisingly Apple has confirmed additional language support for Apple Intelligence coming soon. Here is the actual Apple press release:

    https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-intelligence-is-available-today-on-iphone-ipad-and-mac/

    linked from this article at 9to5Mac:

    https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/28/apple-intelligence-language/

    This reconfirms the previously mentioned English (Ireland) support coming in December.

    This is a good example to NOT rely on one site for all of your Apple-related news. Particularly for Apple Intelligence requirements, 9to5Mac has done a far better job about geographic specifics. AppleInsider has not been particularly noteworthy in these particular matters.
    edited 1:06PM
  • Reply 4 of 8
    johnwhite1001johnwhite1001 Posts: 50member
    You actually have to join a waitlist for Apple Intelligence.  It does not work when first installed on iPhone 15 Pro Max. Waiting to join.  Unbelievable mess!  Cannot even try it out.  It is not enabled until you are approved!   LOL!   Go to Settings to join the waitlist.  AI is listed as Beta still in 18.1.


    edited 1:55PM hammeroftruthwilliamlondon
  • Reply 5 of 8
    xtinktorxtinktor Posts: 2member
    So, I'm not crazy? I'm in Canada, have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the only feature that is live in 18.1 is the photo clean-up tool.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 6 of 8
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,196member
    You actually have to join a waitlist for Apple Intelligence.  It does not work when first installed on iPhone 15 Pro Max. Waiting to join.  Unbelievable mess!  Cannot even try it out.  It is not enabled until you are approved!   LOL!   Go to Settings to join the waitlist.  AI is listed as Beta still in 18.1.


    ALL consumer-facing AI features here in late 2024 are alpha or early beta quality. And not just Apple Intelligence. From every single AI company. Those who don't understand this are going to get in a world of hurt real fast. And I am counting on the media to report on some of the bigger boneheaded failures from time to time. You know, like one of those end of the year recaps such as "Top Ten Things Not To Do With Apple Intelligence."

    ChatGPT, Mistral, Claude, Perplexity, whatever. They are all beta. Same with image generators. Same with voice transcription services like Otter.ai. All of it. Every. Single. One.

    It's important to remember that Apple mentioned that some Apple Intelligence features were hybrid on device + cloud based. Only Apple will know how many individual tasks will be rerouted to online services but it's clear that there will be some sort of ramp to full production speeds. You can't fill a 100,000 seat football stadium instantaneously nor an airplane. This should be common sense but many humans -- just like AI-powered LLMs -- have very little of that.

    All this does is show who is particularly impatient.

    Sign up and carry on with your day. Someday you clear the waitlist and get approved. But until then, you can continue using your device like you have been until now. You haven't lost anything.
    edited 2:28PM williamlondonhammeroftruth
  • Reply 7 of 8
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,196member
    xtinktor said:
    So, I'm not crazy? I'm in Canada, have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the only feature that is live in 18.1 is the photo clean-up tool.
    Apple mentioned during WWDC that AI-powered features would be rolled out in stages. Some features will be rolled out slower than others. There are also regional and language based stages as well. It's not like everyone is getting everything all at once at the same time.

    It's a little more than putting Sabrina Carpenter's new album on an Apple Music server and pressing a checkbox that says "streamable".
    edited 2:31PM williamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 8
    johnwhite1001johnwhite1001 Posts: 50member
    Took about two hours and Apple Intelligence was enabled on my multiple Apple devices after joining the waitlist.
    hammeroftruth
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