iOS 18 is probably not particularly intelligent yet

Apple is said to have problems
iOS 18 is probably not particularly intelligent yet

Apple is reportedly having to postpone the introduction of its new AI features due to stability problems. Instead of coming in September with iOS 18, “Apple Intelligence” will only come with a later update. EU users will probably have to wait much longer for it.

The “next big step” for Apple is said to be “Apple Intelligence”. CEO Tim Cook and his team announced it at the WWDC developer conference in June for September, when the iPhone 16 devices and iOS 18 are released. But that apparently won't happen for the time being, because according to “Bloomberg” there are unspecified stability problems.

The plan is now to bring “Apple Intelligence” to the new iPhones and the 16 Pro duo with iOS 18.1 in October. However, developers should be able to work with a beta of the update earlier so that not only Apple applications can use the new AI functions at launch. According to insiders quoted by “Bloomberg”, Apple may make the software available as early as this week.

Step-by-step introduction

If the company gets the stability problems under control by October, the update will probably only offer some of the announced AI features. “Bloomberg” author Mark Gurman had previously reported that the digital assistant Siri would probably not receive a corresponding update until spring 2025.

This fall, “Apple Intelligence” is expected to be able to analyze and summarize text, help users organize emails and messages, and enable AI-generated, personalized emojis (Genmojis), among other things.

EU citizens have to wait longer anyway

For Germans and other EU citizens, the delay may play no or only a small role. Because of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that applies here, Apple had already announced that it would introduce the new AI functions there later. Among other things, the law requires particularly powerful companies to grant access to third parties (gatekeepers).

Apple, on the other hand, could raise data protection concerns because some AI functions require in-depth access to user data. According to the Financial Times, the company specifically cited “regulatory uncertainties” as the reason. However, it is in talks with the EU and is confident of finding a solution. The basis for this could be that the DMA allows access restrictions if the integrity of a service would otherwise be compromised.

“Apple Intelligence” will initially only be available in English anyway. The implementation of other new features in other languages ​​took several months. What makes the AI ​​functions even more difficult is that Apple has to integrate partners such as OpenAI (ChatGPT).