Most of the buzz around Apple lately has centered on the iPhone 16 series, which the company… Uncovered Earlier this month, but one of the main factors driving the iPhone 16 debate is Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed by Apple exclusively for Apple devices. iPhone 16 Buyers don't yet have access to Apple Intelligence, but the suite is expected to roll out in stages, starting with a “type to Siri” update in October and culminating in a massive Siri overhaul in January.
In an issue of his Power On newsletter sent this weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported iOS 18 will gradually roll out Apple Intelligence features to high-end iPhone users (while the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 chip does support Apple Intelligence, the suite will largely be found on the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, and 16 Pro, thanks to the new A18 chip). iOS 18.1, which is currently in beta, is expected to be available to the public in mid-October. The update will bring a redesign of Control Center and the ability to type Siri prompts, rather than giving the assistant commands with your voice.
iOS 18.2 is reportedly set to be released to the public in December and will feature a major Apple Intelligence addition: Genmoji, integration with ChatGPT, and a new app called Image Playground. Genmoji will allow iPhone users to generate entirely new emojis using text prompts, while the integration with ChatGPT will take advantage of Apple’s AI. New partnership with OpenAI to enable “global” requests powered by ChatGPT (i.e. those that don’t require contextual awareness). Image Playground is a DALL-E-like image generator that works with apps like Messages to produce images on demand in three different styles: animation, illustration, and sketch. iOS 18.2 is also expected to prioritize iPhone notifications on the lock screen and introduce a new email app interface.
This mockup offers a glimpse into Genmoji's comedic potential.
Credit: Apple
Even though iOS 18.3 is set to be released just a month later, Apple has been fairly quiet about it. Some expect iOS 18.3 to unleash Siri's full potential, allowing the smart assistant to contextualize requests based on what's on screen at the time. However, iOS 18.4 will bring what Gurman calls “the biggest update to iOS 18 after iOS 18.1,” which also focuses heavily on Siri's features. If there's one thing to be gleaned from this, it's that Siri is about to undergo a major transformation—which isn't particularly surprising, given that Siri has disappointed people inside and outside Apple for a a long time.
Gurman suspects that Apple’s gradual rollout of AI features could frustrate iPhone 16 customers, who were more sold on the promise of mind-blowing AI than actual hardware upgrades. “While it’s not uncommon for Apple to postpone the release of new features, the scale of the delays this year is unprecedented,” he writes. “And the company has only made matters worse by making these not-yet-available features the main selling point of the new iPhones.”
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