iOS 18 arrives today but the best Apple Intelligence feature could be delayed until March

iOS 18 today, Apple Intelligence’s best feature next March?

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iOS 18 arrives later today, but there will be a glaring omission (coughAppleIntelligence cough) when you install the next generation of iPhone software on your device.

The new software update brings color customization to app icons, a new Photos app redesign, and a better calculator app, just to name a few of the new features. However, the biggest addition will beApple Intelligence, which is expected to launch in October in US English as part ofiOS 18.1.

While you’ll be able to installiOS 18later today on all compatible devices including last year’sbest iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro, you won’t see the true power of the newoperating systemuntil later this year whenApple Intelligence featuresbecome available.

One of those upcoming features is the major overhaul to Siri, with the much-maligned voice assistant set to be upgraded with on-screen awareness, personal context, andChatGPTintegration in the coming months. Frustratingly, though, it looks like you won’t get access to the full version of this new-and-improved Siri until next year.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports, in hisPowerOn newsletter, that “if you want the new Siri digital assistant to actually be useful, you’ll have to wait until a software update around next March.” Yes, you read that right: March.

Apple Intelligence’s March glow up

That’s a long wait for owners of the newiPhone 16andiPhone 16 Pro, aka the “first iPhones built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence,” asTim Cookso purposefully hammered home at Apple’s‘Glowtime’ eventlast week.

iOS 18 without Apple Intelligence is a far less appealing software update than you’d be led to believe. Yeah, color-matching your app icons to your wallpaper is cool, and yeah, Control Center’s redesign is nice, but it’s not what everyone is excited about.

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Just take a look at Apple’siOS 18 Previewand you’ll quickly realize Apple Intelligence is the major selling point heralded as the standout feature. But it’s not even ready yet, and you’ll need to wait even longer than the upcoming 2024 launch window to get your hands on the most important of Apple’s AI tools.

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John-Anthony Disotto is TechRadar’s Senior Writer, AI, ensuring you get the latest information on Tech’s biggest buzzword. An expert in Apple, he was previously iMore’s How To Editor and has a monthly column in MacFormat. Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and is an award-winning journalist with years of experience in editorial.

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