Will Apple Intelligence make Vision Pro more useful? Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
A major visionOS update in April will add Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro. It will reportedly also introduce an updated guest mode and a new spatial content app.
Apple will roll out these features with visionOS 2.4 in April. The beta will drop as early as the week beginning February 16th.
Apple demoed how AI is giving Siri a hefty upgrade at WWDC24. Screenshot: Apple
Apple might push back the launch of a new AI-powered version of Siri after running into unexpected problems during development.
Rather than releasing the upgraded voice assistant in April, Apple might delay the smarter Siri several months or more. Some reports suggest that Apple is adjusting its broader AI strategy, which could also impact other anticipated releases, such as spring loading Mac updates. Read more about the latest developments here.
In the meantime, users looking for a Siri picture of how the AI assistant is evolving can check out the latest updates on its development here.
Apple has finally found an AI partner in China. Photo: Unsplash
Apple will rely on Alibaba to bring Apple Intelligence to China. While the Cupertino giant launched its AI features with iOS 18.1 late last year, they are yet to go live in China.
Apple reportedly held talks with several Chinese companies, including Baidu and ByteDance, to power its AI services in the country.
Another big Apple project bites the dust. AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple pulls the plug on a secret AR glasses project. What does this mean for Vision Pro?
Also on The CultCast:
Erfon discusses the pros and cons of the 13-inch iPad Pro.
Apple’s latest earnings call yields some astonishing factoids.
Apple still plans to fix Siri — and to roll out the delayed CarPlay 2.
We end with a laugh at one of the craziest iPhone cases we’ve ever seen.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple Intelligence will soon get a major international expansion. Photo: Apple
Apple’s rollout of Apple Intelligence has been slow. The AI suite debuted with iOS 18.1 but initially launched in only a limited number of markets and languages.
Since then, the company has expanded support to more regions and languages, but there is still significant ground to cover. This April, the company will further accelerate its efforts and expand Apple Intelligence’s availability to more languages.
Your iPhone is gaining some new features. Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
After more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 18.3 to the public Monday. Unlike the last two point updates, iOS 18.3 is light on big additions. However, it brings minor new features and some usability improvements. Check them all out below.
The iOS overhaul might start with the Camera app. Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Is 2025 the year we see a big iOS 19 redesign based on the look and feel of visionOS? A new rumor says so, starting with the Camera app. There’s much to discuss!
Also on The CultCast:
Erfon finally made a decision on what size iPad Pro to buy.
We discuss the latest rumors about the upcoming iPhone SE and iPad Air models.
Apple takes steps to eliminate AI-generated fake news from notification summaries. But the company seems more intent than ever on getting everyone to use Apple Intelligence.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
At some point Siri will be smarter (really!), Apple implies with its latest move. Photo: Cult of Mac/Nadezhda Moryak
Apple just appointed seasoned executive Kim Vorrath to spearhead improvements to its artificial intelligence capabilities and Siri virtual assistant, signaling renewed focus on competing with AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic, according to a new report Friday.
Apple Intelligence will soon be on by default on compatible handsets. Screenshot: Apple
iPhone users who install iOS 18.3 after the upgrade launches next week will find that Apple Intelligence is now on by default for those who use a compatible handset.
Previously, using the suite of AI-powered functions required opting in, but no longer. It’s a seemingly subtle but important change.
The inaccurate notification summary that sparked the criticism. Photo: BBC News
Following major criticism from major media outlets, Apple is making changes to how its AI-powered notifications summaries work with iOS 18.3 beta 3.
The newest iOS 18.3 beta disables notification summaries for apps in the news and entertainment categories. It also makes several other changes to highlight the feature being in beta and potentially generating summaries with errors.
Apple's smart home display will certainly look better than this render. AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
Apple’s 7-inch smart home hub may not arrive this quarter as initially rumored. A new report indicates the device will launch later in 2025 due to a key iOS 18 feature not being ready for release. For the latestapple homepod news and updates on Apple’s smart home ecosystem, stay tuned.
The writing tools are the most fleshed out Apple Intelligence feature, at least at first. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
One of the top Apple Intelligence features is a new set of system-wide AI writing tools. You can invoke these intelligent writing helpers anytime, anywhere to help you compose, edit, rewrite, summarize, reformat or proofread text.
In my experience, they can really streamline reformatting a document and can be helpful for making your written communication better. Here’s how to make the most of Apple Intelligence writing tools.
These five Apple products could make you go wow this year. AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
Imagine a Siri capable of opening your preferred email client on your iPhone and sending an important email seamlessly. Picture an Apple-branded smart home hub, elegantly wall-mounted in your kitchen, equipped with Apple Intelligence for instant access to smart home controls and a conversational voice assistant. Envision an iPhone just 6mm thin, standing out for its ultra-sleek, stylish design.
All of this could turn into a reality in 2025, with Apple already working on these devices and services for launch next year.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Some new iPhone 17 Pro renders make us ponder whether Apple will (or should) create such a device. We discuss the pros, cons and alternative theories.
Also on The CultCast:
An update on when we might see the very first folding iPhone.
A ridiculous Apple Intelligence screwup lands Apple in hot water.
We wrap up with round two of our picks for best and worst of 2024.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
You may have seen this false news summary. Mangione didn't kill himself. Photo: BBC News
International journalism organization Reporters Without Borders called Thursday for Apple to remove its new artificial intelligence-powered news notifications, following a complaint from the BBC over a wildly inaccurate news summary. Apple Intelligence’s notifications summary feature generated a misleading BBC News headline last week about a high-profile murder case in the United States, falsely stating the accused shooter had shot himself.
The iOS 18.2 release date is also brought the major upgrades to macOS Sequoia and iPadOS 18.2. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 release date is here. They bring in the second wave of Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji, the Image Playground, optional ChatGPT integration and more.
watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2 and visionOS 2.2 also went out, though these don’t include any AI features.
iOS 18.2 is coming, but the release date isn’t Monday as some had hoped. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Monday isn’t the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 release date, as some had hoped. Instead, Apple sent out another round of pre-release versions for testing, a slightly unusual step.
UPDATE: Apple just announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are set to launch on Wednesday, December 11. They are not yet out at the time of this writing, and the most likely time is 10 A.M. Pacific/1 P.M. Eastern.
When they debut, these operating systems bring to iPhone, iPad and Mac a new collection of Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji, the Image Playground and more, so there’s plenty of anticipation.
The fourth generation of Apple's budget iPhone could get impressive camera upgrades. Photo: Cult of Mac
Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE 4 might bring significant camera upgrades to the budget phone, with plans to incorporate a 48-megapixel main camera and a 12MP TrueDepth front-facing camera, according to a new report.
That, plus other improvements, marks a substantial upgrade over the iPhone SE 3. Unfortunately, that means you can expect the new handset to come with a bit of a price increase, too.
A bunch of Apple Intelligence features — and, more excitingly, sudoku. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
iOS 18.2 drops a huge number of new features onto the iPhone. The second major iOS 18 update, available now, expands the capabilities of Apple Intelligence — and adds plenty of goodies for everyone else, too.
Keep reading or watch our video on the new features awaiting iPhone owners in iOS 18.2.
Don’t wait: you can safely and easily put iOS 18.2 on your iPhone now. Here’s how. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
iOS 18.2 will go out to iPhones everywhere next week, but you don’t need to wait. It’s possible to go ahead and install the iOS 18.2 release candidate — the final version before Apple pushes it to the public — this weekend. That way you’ll have time to play around with the AI-powered Image Playground and other new Apple Intelligence features.
Getting iOS 18.2 now doesn’t require doing anything dodgy or risky. You’ll download the final version of the upgrade straight from Apple … just a little earlier than scheduled.
iOS 18.2 brings a range of new AI features. AI image: ChatGPT
iOS 18.2 will make searching on Apple Music and Apple TV much easier with natural language support. This means you can use natural language to describe and search for TV shows or music you are looking for.
The revamped Photos app gained support for similar search capabilities with the iOS 18.1 update.
Apple wants to use Amazon's chips for training its AI models Photo: Apple
Apple uses Amazon Web Services’ custom artificial intelligence chips to power its search services. The company is also evaluating if it can use Amazon’s latest AI chips to pretrain Apple Intelligence models.
Apple’s Benoit Dupin, senior director of machine learning and AI, made these revelations Tuesday in a surprise appearance at Amazon’s annual AWS re:Reinvent conference in Las Vegas.
The iOS 18.2 release date is soon — just not as soon as had been rumored. AI image: ChatGPT
A rumor from early November said the iOS 18.2 launch day would be the week of December 2, but that’s now impossible. There are steps that must take place before the operating system can be introduced, and not all of them have happened yet.
The release will probably be in the second week of December. Right now, the earliest likely date is December 10, though December 11 is looking increasingly likely.
Whenever the launch finally happens, it’ll usher in some of the most-anticipated new Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji, the Image Playground and more.
iOS 18.2 takes another step towards its public release. Photo: Cult of Mac
With iOS 18.3 due for release in early December, Apple continues beta testing the OS. The third beta build is now out for developers, bringing some small changes and enhancements.
Below is a roundup of all the new features and changes in iOS 18.2 beta 3.
UPDATE: These became available to all beta testers on Tuesday. Just be aware that this is the only second round of public beta testing and the updates are labeled as such. Nevertheless, public beta 2 is the same as developer beta 3.