Apple Intelligence Releases iOS 18 Beta This Week, But Don’t Expect Full Release Anytime Soon

Apple’s much-anticipated suite of AI features, Apple Intelligence, was supposed to arrive later than this year’s launches of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, but now we have a clearer idea of when we’ll be able to take advantage of it (unless you live in the EU).

The update was reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (Paywall), who reported today that Apple’s AI presence may not be felt until iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 are released, which is expected in October.

According to Gurman, sources with knowledge of the matter suggest that Apple Intelligence will arrive a few weeks after the first iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 updates, but developers will be able to try them out much sooner.

iOS 18.1 Developer Beta Coming Next Week

This puts Apple’s software update plans in an interesting spot, as Gurman says Apple “plans to make Apple Intelligence available to software developers for the first time for early testing as early as this week.”

That’s via betas for iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, despite the fact that neither initial version has been released. Gurman also notes that Apple hopes to “finish development” on iOS 18 by the end of this month, which would allow it to be installed on the iPhone 16 lineup.

Apple Intelligence’s move to iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 (Gurman says the feature will be part of macOS Sequoia, at least for now) means your new iPhone 16 won’t get many of the most important new features until a future software update.