iOS 26 will bring GPT-5 to Apple Intelligence — what you need to know

iOS 18.2 ChatGPT integration
(Image credit: Apple)

OpenAI's newly-announced GPT-5 will be coming to Apple Intelligence on recent iPhones, iPads and Macs a lot quicker than you may have thought.

According to a statement given to 9to5Mac's Zac Hall, Apple says that GPT-5 integration is indeed coming to Apple Intelligence, and will be available in iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26.

Apple's latest iPhone, iPad and Mac OSes are currently in developer and public beta. The stable versions should appear next month alongside the expected launch of the iPhone 17 series, meaning it won't be long until users can try out the new version of ChatGPT on their favorite Apple device.

What does ChatGPT do for Apple Intelligence?

Currently, ChatGPT-powered Apple Intelligence features use GPT-4o, OpenAI's last big update to its models designed to better handle speech and image inputs alongside traditional text prompts.

ChatGPT integration for Apple Intelligence isn't constant, but rather appears when Apple would rather rely on the world's biggest AI chatbot for answers that its own services can't handle.

This includes common AI tasks like web searches or queries about files, but also the ability to use OpenAI's tools in Apple's own features such as the iPhone 16 series' Visual Intelligence tool, or in Writing Tools to edit or generate text. These can all be used without an OpenAI account, although you can link one if you wish to make use of any subscription features you pay for.

It's not clear what benefits GPT-5 will offer to Apple Intelligence users once the integration is enabled. But OpenAI is selling the new model in all sorts of ways, touting its enhanced reasoning, better coding and writing tools, a better voice mode, new personalities and, if you're a Pro subscriber, integration with Google apps.

Apple Intelligence, as our recent AI Phone Face-Off proved, is lagging behind its rivals in terms of capabilities. Perhaps with the help of GPT-5, Apple can turn the tables on its Gemini-powered opponents.

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Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

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