Apple to release iPhone intelligence features in batches: Check timeline

Reportedly, the upcoming iPhone 16 series will debut without intelligence feature, but will get writing and text summarisation tools by October, and more AI features with subsequent iOS updates

Apple Intelligence is anticipated to be a major draw for the next-generation iPhone, the iPhone 16 series. However, Apple's suite of artificial intelligence features is not expected to be fully available on the new iPhones at launch. While some AI features, such as Apple’s text writing assistance and text summarisation tools, are expected to debut in October, more advanced features, such as image generation tools, might not be available until late 2024 or early 2025.

Apple Intelligence: Expected timeline

iOS 18: September

Reportedly, the upcoming iPhone 16 series will debut with iOS 18 sans intelligence feature, but will get writing and text summarisation tools by October, and more AI features with subsequent iOS updates.

iOS 18.1: October

Apple has begun rolling out beta versions of iOS 18.1, which includes select Apple Intelligence features such as writing tools, notification summaries, webpage summaries in Safari, and Clean-up in the Photos app. The stable version of iOS 18.1 for end users is expected to be released in October. The following AI features are anticipated to roll out with iOS 18.1:

• Clean-up: An AI-powered image editing tool in the Photos app that allows users to remove unwanted background objects.
• Writing Tools: AI-powered writing tools such as Proofread, Rewrite, Summarise, and more will be available on native iPhone apps including Notes, Mail, and Messages.
• Movie Memory: An AI-powered video generation feature that uses images and videos on the device to create a video based on user descriptions.
• Smart Reply: AI-suggested replies in native apps such as Messages and Mail.
• Notification Summary: This feature generates summaries for multiple notifications from an app, grouping them together for an at-a-glance view, and also includes notifications from third-party apps.
• Webpage Summary: A feature for Safari's Reader view mode that summarises text on web pages.
• Redesigned Siri: Although OpenAI’s ChatGPT integration into Siri will come at a later date, Siri with iOS 18.1 will feature a redesigned interface and improved natural language processing capabilities.

Subsequent iOS 18 update

More advanced AI-powered features, such as Genmoji and the Image Playground app, are expected to be available on eligible iPhones by December. Genmoji allows users to generate custom emojis using AI, while the Image Playground app creates images based on user input and style preferences. AI-powered Siri functions and system-wide ChatGPT integration are expected to be available by early 2025.

Eligible iPhones for Apple Intelligence

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max from the current generation line-up are the only models to get Apple Intelligence feature mentioned above. These intelligence features will be available by default in the upcoming iPhone 16 series, which is expected to get more advanced AI features in future that may not be supported on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.