Apple Confirms Schedules for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, macOS Sequoia, and Apple Intelligence

Apple’s latest software platforms will arrive on September 16 for users with supported devices, but without Apple Intelligence as expected. Those new AI features will begin appearing in the initial beta versions of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 “next month,” with some features arriving even later in future updates in late 2024 and throughout 2025.

“Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, harnessing the power of Apple Silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks — all while protecting users’ privacy and security,” an Apple announcement explains. “Many of the models that power Apple Intelligence run entirely on device, and Private Cloud Compute offers the ability to flex and scale computational capacity between on-device processing and larger, server-based models that run on dedicated Apple Silicon servers.”

That’s true, I suppose, but none of it is happening in the initial releases of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia–Apple hasn’t revealed any AI features for watchOS 11–next week. It starts on September 13, when Apple ships the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max with iOS 18. And then it will deliver all the updated OSes to existing supported devices on September 16.

Those interested in Apple Intelligence will have to wait a bit longer. The first batch of these features will arrive next month in beta, and should include the following.

Siri – The original personal digital assistant is getting an AI makeover with more natural interactions and deeper system integration. Siri appears accompanied by a new glowing light on the display edges on iPhone, iPad, and CarPlay, and it can be placed anywhere on the Mac desktop. You can converse with Siri naturally, type prompts, and maintain context as with a normal conversation.

Writing Tools – AI-based rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing of text everywhere you can write (including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps).

Memories – This feature in the Photos app will help you search for specific photos, find specific moments in videos, and create movies by typing a description in natural language.

Clean Up – This tool in the Photos app will work like Google’s Magic Eraser and help you remove distracting objects in the background of photos.

Record, transcribe, and summarize audio – Apple’s Notes and Phone apps will let users record, transcribe, and summarize audio.

Notifications improvements – Apple Intelligence will summarize notifications across apps, reduce interruptions with a new Focus feature, and prioritize the most important notifications so you see them first.

Mail improvements – The Mail app is getting a Priority Messages feature to surface time-sensitive and important messages, email summaries in the inbox, and a Smart Reply feature that will provide quick response suggestions and ensures you answer questions you were asked.

After that, Apple will finalize the .1 releases and then roll out additional Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 before the end of 2024, and then in additional updates in 2025. These will include such things as Image Playground (generative image creation), Wand (a way to turn rough sketches in Notes into better images), Image Wand (create an image in an empty space using the context of what’s around it), Genmoji (generative AI emoji creator), more Siri capabilities, ChatGPT integration, and more.

Apple is of course highlighting its efforts to protect your privacy while using AI as well.

“On-device processing is a cornerstone of Apple Intelligence, and many of the models that power it run entirely on-device,” the firm notes. “To run more complex requests that require more processing power, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Apple devices into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. Private Cloud Compute marks a fundamental breakthrough in server-based intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request. Independent experts can inspect the code that runs on Apple Silicon servers to continuously verify this privacy promise and are already doing so.”

Additionally, coming tools like ChatGPT integration, Siri advanced, and Writing Tools include built-in privacy protections, Apple claims, that will be made available to all users for free. Note that Apple Intelligence is limited to iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, while the other platforms required an iPad or Mac with an M1 or later chipset. It’s also limited to U.S. English at first, though additional language support will arrive “over the course of the next year.”