Apple’s big step into artificial intelligence is scheduled for this month, and a prediction from a generally reliable source may have just named the release date: October 28. This will reportedly be when new iOS, macOS and iPadOS versions usher in Apple Intelligence.
These AI capabilities were unveiled in June at the company’s developers conference and have been in public beta testing for weeks, so it’s now a waiting game for the full launch.
Apple Intelligence release date is almost here
Apple highlights the artificial intelligence capabilities of the recently launched iPhone 16 series, but these aren’t actually available yet. iPhone users are waiting for the release of iOS 18.1 for Apple Intelligence. And Mac and iPad users await macOS Sequoia 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 for the same reason.
Apple promised that the AI features would launch in October, and the release date will reportedly come in just before the deadline.
“Apple plans Oct. 28 release for Apple Intelligence and iOS 18.1,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in the latest Power On newsletter. That’s a Monday, a typical date for operating system upgrades to come out of Cupertino. And the new macOS and iPadOS versions will surely reach users at the same time.
The first Macs with the M4 processor and an upgraded iPad mini could launch shortly afterward.
What’s new in Apple AI
With OpenAI, Google and others putting artificial intelligence in the headlines almost every day, Apple is finally getting serious about the technology. In June, the company used WWDC24 to unveil Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools that fix users’ grammar and images, as well as generate pictures based on user instructions.
These will be rolled out over the coming months and into 2025. The first selection debuts in October. After real-world tests, Cult of Mac said of these initial offerings: “Some are genuinely impressive, while a couple are … somewhat pointless.”
The second round of Apple Intelligence updates will include Genmoji and the much-anticipated (and optional) integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Farther ahead, big upgrades for the Siri digital assistant are expected in March 2025. AI will make it better at understanding what users want and performing complex everyday tasks.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
