Apple Intelligence is here! iOS 18.1 is the free update that brings AI to iPhones
Apple's AI is finally available for your iPhone, thanks to the free iOS 18.1 update that's rolling out from today
This year, all the big smartphone players are making a splash in AI. Until now, Apple has been notably absent from the space. The tech giant showed off its version of AI called Apple Intelligence back in June at WWDC 2024. But while it’s been in beta for the past few months, it’s not been available for most people to get. That changes today.
Apple Intelligence is now officially here for everyone. It comes in the free iOS 18.1 software update that’s rolling out to all users from today. To update, just head in to the Settings app, General, and then Software Update. It might take a while to download at first, as everyone rushes to get the AI features. Note that it’s only available in the English (US) language for now, so you’ll need to change your device and Siri settings accordingly if you live elsewhere.
What Apple Intelligence features do you get in iOS 18.1?
If you’ve been following the Apple headlines, you’ll know that Apple Intelligence features are being staggered. That is to say, you won’t get everything in iOS 18.1 – you’ll have to wait for subsequent updates for certain features. So what do you get in iOS 18.1?
For writing, users can now rewrite, proofread, and summarise text across various apps like Mail, Notes, Pages, and even some third-party apps with Writing Tools. Siri gets a visual upgrade with a glowing edge light and now smoothly switches between text and voice commands. This smart assistant also retains context between interactions and offers device support guides for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But the full personal context features aren’t here just yet.
The Mail app has been enhanced with Apple Intelligence. You’ll find an Urgent section at the inbox’s top, message summaries for quick previews, and a Smart Reply that identifies questions for rapid responses. This Smart Reply also lives in the Messages app. Alongside this, you’ll get notification summaries that give you a brief overview of your messages or other notifications. A new Focus mode has been added to limit notifications strictly to urgent ones, helping reduce interruptions. In the Photos app, users can search by natural language, find specific video moments, create Memories based on descriptive storylines, and enjoy transcript summaries.
Some highly anticipated Apple Intelligence features like the Image Playground, Genmoji, Priority Notifications, and an upgraded Siri with on-screen awareness are yet to roll out, including Apple’s ChatGPT integration. This is coming in iOS 18.2, which is currently available for beta testing. Rumours suggest this will be released in December.
Other features have arrived in iOS 18.1, including further Control Center customisation options, the ability to take selfies with Camera Control, Sleep Apnea detection on the latest Apple Watches, and some Music app tweaks.
Connor Jewiss
