Apple’s iOS 18 public beta has launched, but there’s one rather glaring omisson: Apple Intelligence is nowhere to be seen. Try the beta today and you’ll notice that the artificial intelligence platform, which promises to take Apple’s devices to the next level capabilities-wise, is totally absent. Worse, it might not even arrive in time for the upcoming iPhone 16 debut in September.
In fact, Apple seems to be taking things a step backwards, and you can see the signs of this if you know where to look. For instance, as 9to5Mac has pointed out, the official Apple Intelligence landing page – created on June 10, the day of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote at which Apple Intelligence was announced – used to say that the feature would arrive “in an upcoming beta this summer.” Now, the page says it’s “coming in beta this fall.”
MacRumors, meanwhile, noticed that the iOS 18 beta 3 version of Apple’s Xcode simulator app contained an ‘Apple Intelligence & Siri’ section within its Settings app, but this has since been removed. It’s also been highlighted by others that a ‘Create New Emoji’ button – which would tap into Apple Intelligence’s generative AI abilities – briefly appeared in certain apps when switching to the keyboard’s emoji picker. Again, this is now absent.
The fact that these features and references to Apple Intelligence appeared and then disappeared just as quickly could mean nothing – Apple adds and removes features from its betas all the time. But it could also suggest that Apple might want to delay its AI platform as it puts the finishing touches on it – and that in turn might mean a delayed launch.
When will Apple Intelligence launch?
If Apple Intelligence could be delayed past the full release of iOS 18, when might we see it? At this point, any guess is pure speculation, but as 9to5Mac has argued, there is past precedent which might offer up some clues.
Apple initially brought Stage Manager to the iOS 16 beta, but it was in such a troubled state that it got pushed back to iOS 16.1. That version launched as a beta in August, but the full version of iOS 16.1 didn’t see the light of day until October, a month after the iOS 16 release date.
Apple might decide to take a similar path with Apple Intelligence, letting beta testers try it out in August while saving it for regular users until October. Notably, that’s after the iPhone 16 lineup is set to launch in September. Still, it’s a suggestion endorsed by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who says developers could get to test Apple Intelligence as soon as this week, with the full release coming in October.
Given the potentially groundbreaking ways in which Apple Intelligence could shake up iOS, it’ll be disappointing to have to wait. But it makes sense to be patient – given its significance, Apple would rather launch a polished version of its AI than some half-baked attempt, and most users will probably (albeit begrudgingly) be on board with that.
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alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake)
