At the GlowTime event today, Apple once again talked about its upcoming iOS 18 update, but now we finally know when it’s coming. Apple also detailed when it’s planning a wide release of the Apple Intelligence features.
Apple will start pushing the iOS 18 update to iPhones on September 16, 2024, as well as the corresponding iPadOS 18 update for iPads. The second gen iPhone SE, the iPhone XR, and later models are qualified for this update. If you don’t want to wait a week to test the new iOS, you can sign up for the Apple Beta program. Apple is rolling out the release candidate version of iOS 18 to testers right now (build code 22A3354). Release candidates are the very last versions of a software before it leaves beta.
The Apple Intelligence features will start becoming available next month when iOS 18.1 drops. The beta versions of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 will include features like a smarter, more personal Siri, synthetic writing and imaging tools, and new ways to interact with the Apple ecosystem across the board. In the early releases, they will be limited to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 lineup. And only the iPads and Macs running on M1 silicon will support the new crop of AI enhancements.
Apple also warned that Apple Intelligence can only be enabled on devices set to the U.S. English. “Later this year, Apple Intelligence will add support for localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K.,” the press release explains. The Cupertino giant also has plans to offer Apple Intelligence in “Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.”
The new iOS 18 update packs a slew of personalization features that might just cure the “iPhone sameness.” Your iPhone will now let you pick themes and colors for your icons and make your own layouts. The Control Panel is a lot more customizable now. And Apple has added some entirely new apps and experiences, including Passwords app and better reading options in Safari.
Apple has also quietly updated the page for macOS Sequoia, the next major update for Mac computers, to mention that it will be released on the same day: September 16. Mac operating system updates usually happen a while after iOS and iPadOS updates, so that’s a change of pace.
