Apple Intelligence release date — here’s when all the AI features are coming

Apple Intelligence installation screen shown on iPhone 15 Pro Max.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

October is the month when Apple Intelligence features go from beta to fully available. But not every one of the promised AI-powered capabilities will be available right away. Instead, Apple is going with a staggered release, putting out some features right away with the upcoming iOS 18.1 release and rolling out the rest in updates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025.

iOS 18.1 is currently in public beta, with Apple promising during last month's iPhone 16 launch that the full release with Apple Intelligence would land sometime during October. Thanks to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, we've got a better idea of when that release will be ready now that October's upon us, along with release windows for other highly anticipated features like Genmoji, Image Playground, and more. iOS 18.1 is set to go live on October 28, according to Gurman. 

As a reminder, Apple Intelligence is limited to select phones — the iPhone 16 models along with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Other iOS 18-compatible phones can download updates like iOS 18.1, though they won't be able to run any Apple Intelligence features. What's more, Apple Intelligence will also be made available through updates to iPadOS and macOS Sequoia released at the same time as Apple's iOS updates.

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Rumored Apple Intelligence release timeline
iOS versionAvailabilityApple Intelligence features
iOS 18.1October 28, 2024 (public beta out now)Clean Up, notification and app summaries, suggested replies, proofreading and rewriting tools, phone call recording and transcription, new focus mode, create Memories movies based on description
iOS 18.2December 2024Genmoji, Image Playground
iOS 18.3Before the end of 2024Minor updates
iOS 184.March 2025Overhauled Siri assistant with better contextual and personalized responses

Rumored Apple Intelligence release dates

Apart from confirming the October launch of Apple Intelligence — or at least some parts of Apple Intelligence — Apple hasn't published a timeline for the rollout of AI to its hardware. Instead, most of what we know comes from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who reported on Apple's rollout plans in a PowerOn newsletter published at the end of September.

Gurman expects the full iOS 18.1 upgrade to exit its public beta and land on phones on October 28. Don't get too excited though, as several notable features won't arrive until iOS 18.2 or later, according to Gurman, echoing a previous report about the Apple Intelligence rollout timeline

iOS 18.2 should add ChatGPT integration and introduce Genmoji, which uses AI to generate emojis based on inputted text or based on someone from your Photos library. That update should also bring Image Playground, Apple's answer to Google's Pixel Studio that lets you use AI to create images of yourself and others. 

Apple is currently working on getting iOS 18.2 "down to zero-bug status in early November," Gurman said. If history stands, that means a release window should be sometime in December. Another update could also come before the holidays with iOS 18.3, but it's expected to be a reality minor one, and it's unclear if any other Apple Intelligence features will be added with it, according to a recent MacRumors report

As for Apple's planned overhaul to its Siri virtual assistant, which promises to give users better contextual and personalized responses, don't expect that to be available until March with iOS 18.4, Gurman added. 

iOS 18.1 Apple Intelligence features

iOS 18.1 public beta in software update on an iPhone

(Image credit: Future)

You can already test out Apple's new suite of AI features by downloading the iOS 18.1 public beta on a compatible phone ahead of the October 28 release of the full update. Here's what you'll find when you upgrade to iOS 18.1.

  • Writing tools: Available in any app on your iPhone where you input text, writing tools powered by Apple Intelligence let you fine-tune what you've written or give you inspiration to get started. Included tools let you check spelling and grammar, get summaries of text and generate rewrite suggestions tied to a specific tone.
  • Photo features: You'll find a trio of improvements to the Photos app, starting with Clean Up, a tool that removes unwanted people and objects from your photos. A Memory Movie feature uses text prompts to create a slideshow from photos and videos in your library. And you can now search for old photos and videos using natural language.
  • Summaries: All iOS 18-capable phones benefit from a new audio record capability added to iOS 18 Notes, but you can get auto-generated summaries of those recordings on Apple Intelligence-ready phones. Similarly, in Apple Intelligence, you can now record phone calls, with transcripts and summaries of your recorded calls available for reference.
  • Siri: Big changes are coming to Siri over time, as the digital assistant will eventually be able to understand whatever's on your screen and take actions based on that. For now, the iOS 18.1 improvements to Siri are pretty significant in their own right, with Siri now appearing with a flash around the perimeter of your iPhone screen. Siri is smart enough to understand questions if you stop and correct yourself, and it can handle follow-up questions without you having to restate what you're asking about. Siri can also provide troubleshooting about Apple products in iOS 18.1.
  • Mail: A wider reorganization of Mail is coming in iOS 18, with the app splitting your inbox into ones that are dedicated to personal messages, receipts, deals and newsletters. That's coming later this year, but iOS 18.1 now shows summaries of messages in your inbox instead of the first few lines of the message. (Notifications in iOS 18.1 summarize the gist of the alert, too.) Other Mail improvements include priority messages, which float messages with calls to action to the top of your inbox, and smart replies for when your responding to email.

As a reminder, you'll need one of the best iPhones like the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any of the latest iPhone 16 series to enjoy Apple Intelligence once it does begin to rollout. 

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Alyse Stanley
News Editor

Alyse Stanley is a news editor at Tom’s Guide overseeing weekend coverage and writing about the latest in tech, gaming and entertainment. Prior to joining Tom’s Guide, Alyse worked as an editor for the Washington Post’s sunsetted video game section, Launcher. She previously led Gizmodo’s weekend news desk, where she covered breaking tech news — everything from the latest spec rumors and gadget launches to social media policy and cybersecurity threats.  She has also written game reviews and features as a freelance reporter for outlets like Polygon, Unwinnable, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun. She’s a big fan of horror movies, cartoons, and miniature painting.