How to activate Apple Intelligence after major iPhone iOS 18.1 update
The wait is finally over, after Apple announced its new AI features almost two months ago.
Big changes have now been rolled out with the latest iOS update, 18.1 now available to download.
People will be able to easily clean up photos, record phone calls, redraft messages, summarise long text, and speak ‘more naturally’ to Siri without needing to download third party apps.
Apple Intelligence is available in the UK, but there are a few hoops to jump through first in order to activate it, as it is still in beta testing.
It’s easy to do though; we managed it within five minutes of downloading the software update and will explain how below.
The new features are meant to integrate AI within the overall phone experience, bringing in some features which are already available with rivals, like editing background clutter out of photos and redrafting messages, and others which Apple says are pioneering, such as the level of privacy and security offered.
How to activate Apple Intelligence in the UK?
A beta version in US English has just been released, which means that to use it you will need to set your phone language to US English.
You can wait for a British English version, but this will not be released until December.
Those eager to try it now can access the US version.
To get it on your phone, first download iOS 18.1 when it is released by checking for software updates under Settings -> General ->Software Update.
Make sure your phone is up to date with iOS 18.1.
Once this is done, you will see a new category appear with a colourful icon under Settings, called Apple Intelligence and Siri.
In this section, under Siri Requests, set the Language to English (United States). Back in General, change Language and Region to United States too.
Once this is done, an option will appear to request activation of Apple Intelligence:
- Go to Settings
- Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri
- Then tap Join the Apple Intelligence Waiting List.
- You will receive a notification as soon as it is ready to be activated on your iPhone (this is estimated to be within a few hours of joining, but worked for us within five minutes.)
- On-device Apple Intelligence models will begin to be downloaded after activation and can then start to be used.
If you want to use Apple Intelligence on your phone, there are some conditions.
Firstly, it will only work with advanced enough hardware, which means iPhone 16 or iPhone 15 Pro models, which have an A17 processing chip. For iPads, the entry point is an M1 chip which is available to Pro models from 2021 or iPad Air from 2022.
This means if you have an iPhone 14 or earlier, or even the iPhone 15 but basic rather than pro, you’re out of luck, at least for the full AI features. Some are likely to still be available, but we don’t know the full details yet.
Which new features will be available?
Apple said the first set of AI features available with iOS 18.1 this month include:
- Writing Tools to help you craft better text
- Clean Up letting you edit photos
- Create a Memory movie in Photos
- Natural language search in Photos
- Notification summaries
- Reduce Interruptions Focus
- Intelligent Breakthrough and Silencing in Focus
- Priority messages in Mail
- Smart Reply in Mail and Messages
- Summaries in Mail and Messages
- Siri enhancements, including product knowledge, more resilient request handling, a new look and feel, a more natural voice, the ability to type to Siri and more
The new iOS is also set to give the ability to record phone calls, a function which was previously blocked, as well as transcribe the content.
Apple’s launch announcement in September revealed the technology will help you change the tone of a message you’ve written if you need it to sound ‘more professional’ – and most fun of all, it will craft special new emojis based on prompts you suggest.
Chat GPT will be harnessed to help users with drafting text, whether that be making an email sound more professional or adding ‘humour and creativity to a party invitation’.
Proofreading for spelling and grammar will become simpler, and users can also easily create a summary of text into bullet points or a shorter paragraph by highlighting it.
Compatible devices for Apple Intelligence
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPad Pro (M1 and later)
- iPad Air (M1 and later)
- MacBook Air (M1 and later)
- MacBook Pro (M1 and later)
- iMac (M1 and later)
- Mac mini (M1 and later)
- Mac Studio (M1 Max and later)
- Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)
The company said it will be possible to ‘summarise an entire lecture in seconds, get the short version of a long group thread, and minimise unnecessary distractions with prioritised notifications’.
In the ‘Image Playground’ app, users will be able to ‘create new images from prompts and reate an entirely new image based on a description, suggested concepts, or even someone from your Photos library’, with the option to change the style too for different concepts.
Apple pledged that your data will be secure is it is ‘never stored’ and ‘used only for your requests’ with private cloud computing rather than, for example, being used to continue training the AI.
Apple Intelligence features will not currently work in the EU or in mainland China.
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