Apple's timeline for launching AI features revealed
Apple is preparing to launch its artificial intelligence features, known as “ Apple Intelligence ,” for eligible iPhones soon, with three updates expected before the end of the year. However, some key features, such as major changes to Siri, may be delayed until 2025, according to Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, the iOS 18.2 and iOS 18.3 updates are expected to be released next December, after the iOS 18.1 update was launched in mid-October.
The iOS 18.1 update is expected to come alongside a second anticipated event for the company, where it is expected to unveil new and updated Mac computers.
The iOS 18.1 update will only include the first batch of “Apple Intelligence” features, and these features are expected to include summarizing messages and emails, writing tools such as summarizing and proofreading, the feature of removing unwanted elements from photos, in addition to recording phone calls and transcribing them, and others.
As for the iOS 18.2 update, it is expected to be released in early December, and it will come with major features such as the arrangement of notifications on the lock screen, the “Image Playground” image generation feature, and the “Genmoji” emoji creation feature.
This is also likely to be the first release to include ChatGPT integration into Siri, expanding the use of Apple Intelligence in English to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Apple plans to release iOS 18.3 as a relatively easy update to fix bugs observed in iOS 18.2, and the company also aims to release it before the end of 2024. This update may include some new Siri features such as “personal context” and deep integration with apps.
After the release of iOS 18.3, there will be a gap of months before the release of the iOS 18.4 update, which is supposed to include all the developed capabilities of Siri, with the addition of languages other than English in the artificial intelligence features, such as Chinese, French, Japanese and Spanish, and this update is expected to arrive in March of next year 2025.
According to the plan, Apple will start making the “Apple Intelligence” features available with the iOS 18.1 update, and devices will gradually reach it through subsequent updates. These features will be limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16, in addition to iPads and Macs with Apple Silicon processors through equivalent updates.
As for iPhones that do not support AI features, they will be able to benefit from additional features and improvements with successive updates without AI features.
Analysts believe that Apple is taking a big risk by gradually rolling out AI features, especially with the postponement of local language support, as this could negatively impact international sales of the new iPhone 16 phones.