Updated October 24 with details of the iOS 18.1 waitlist.
Apple Intelligence is almost here and Apple just confirmed exactly when. We already knew it was sometime in October and now Apple has said it will be next week. And on Wednesday, October 23, Apple just went live with the first developer beta of iOS 18.2.
Apple Intelligence is just days away.
And now there are new details about a key part of Apple Intelligence: there’s a waitlist. When you update to iOS 18.1, the Settings app includes a new extra called Apple Intelligence & Siri. Here you can sign in to Apple Intelligence. If you do, you’ll be asked to join a waitlist, just as those using the developer or public beta versions have had to do.
During that time, the waiting list grew rapidly: I waited as long as 10 minutes. That may change when the software reaches the critical mass that the general release brings. However, if you’ve already used Apple Intelligence in beta, Apple has said you won’t have to wait again.
So, as Ryan Christoffel at 9to5Mac points out, this is a cunning way to beat the waitlist. “You can sign up for the Apple Intelligence waitlist today. How? By installing the public beta version of iOS 18.1. Apple just released the beta version of iOS 18.1 RC today. RC stands for release candidate, which means the software will likely be identical to what will be released to all users next week… once you install iOS 18.1 RC, you can be added to the Apple Intelligence waitlist without waiting another day to wait.’ That means you can move to the general release software next week, but you won’t have to be on a waiting list again.
iOS 18.1 Release Date
Next week means Monday October 28, Tuesday October 29 or Wednesday October 30. I believe the exact release details will be on October 28th at 10am Pacific.
iOS 18.1: the first introduction to Apple Intelligence
The first features of Apple’s personal intelligence system are almost available. There’s more to come in the coming months, but the first features include writing tools to help you improve what you’ve written. You can proofread your text and the iPhone can rewrite or summarize what you said. These tools are available on iPhone, including in Mail, Notes, Pages, and in some third-party apps.
Photos has a new cleaning tool that lets you remove people and things that spoil your shot, and uses multiple machine learning tools to leave the backgrounds pristine, as if they were never there.
You can already record and transcribe audio, but iOS 18.1 adds the ability to record phone calls, complete with automatic notifications to participants. A summary is also generated after the call ends.
Siri is getting a new design that will somehow look more central to the iPhone experience and offer a more intuitive interaction.
Initially, Apple Intelligence on iPhone will only work with devices where the language and Siri are set to US English. But Apple has now released a developer beta that will extend this to other versions of English.
iOS 18.2 developer beta now live
The new iOS 18.2 beta just went live and will allow more English speakers to use Apple Intelligence, specifically English for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and the UK
It also introduces many more features, plus refinements to existing writing tools. You can specify what you are looking for with the ‘Describe your change’ element.
New features include Image Playground, which lets you create images from a photo in your photo library. You can save it to a new standalone app that will automatically update on all devices with the same Apple account.
And iOS 18.2 sees the arrival of the long-awaited Genmoji to create all-new emoji with just a text prompt. There is also the first impression of integration with ChatGPT. If Siri thinks ChatGPT can help, you’ll be asked if you want to be connected to it. Apple has highlighted the security measures it puts in place for each request and no ChatGPT account is required. Visual Intelligence, which integrates with the iPhone’s camera controls, is also in the new beta.
Apple iOS 18.2 will be released generally in December, Apple has confirmed.
