Apple has officially inaugurated the public beta of iOS 18.1, introducing Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered features that aim to enhance how patrons interact with their iPhones. Following its initial preview at the WWDC 2024 event, the beta is now available for iPhone users, giving early access to tools like revamped Siri functionalities, advanced writing tools, and photo-editing capabilities.
With the release just ahead of the iPhone 16 series launch, users with the recent hardware can experience these innovative features. Here’s a deep dive into what you can try out with the iOS 18.1 public beta.
Apple Intelligence is Apple’s most recent venture into AI, featuring a variety of tools designed to improve daily tasks such as writing, photo editing, and searching for content. While not every attribute Apple showcased in June is accessible in this initial public beta, the released tools offer a glimpse of the powerful capacity coming to iOS 18.1. The beta also extends to iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1, bringing these attributes to the iPad and Mac as well.
However, only the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 models are equipped to fully support Apple Intelligence, owing to the advanced silicon and RAM needed to process AI functions locally.
Writing Tools: Enhanced Productivity Through AI
One of the standout additions in iOS 18.1 is its AI-powered writing tools, accessible anywhere you can type text. These tools aim to improve your writing by offering a variety of helpful features.
Rewrite Tool: This tool enables patrons to create different versions of the text they’ve written, making it easier to adjust tone, style, or clarity depending on the audience.
Proofreading and Summarization: The proofreading feature checks for grammar and spelling errors, while the summarization tool condenses long passages into concise summaries, ideal for reviewing or sharing key points from a document.
These tools are accessible throughout the iOS 18 experience, integrating seamlessly into apps like Notes, Mail, and Messages.
Photo Attributes: Editing and Searching Made Easy
Apple Intelligence also brings a number of exciting new capacity to the Photos app, particularly with the Photos Clean Up tool. This attribute allows patrons to remove unwanted objects or people from photos and seamlessly fills in the background to maintain the image’s natural appearance, similar to Google’s Magic Editor. The tool is designed to enhance photos by eliminating distractions in just a few taps.
Movie Memory Creation: Users can type in a text prompt to create slideshows using photos and videos from their library. For example, by typing “Show me a movie from my last vacation to Hawaii set to a tropical tune,” Apple Intelligence will curate the content and assemble it into a personalized movie.
Natural Language Search: Another highly anticipated feature is natural language search, which enables users to find photos or specific moments in videos by simply describing them. This makes it easier to track down old memories, even if you don’t remember exactly when or where the photo was taken.
Siri: Smarter and More Context-Aware
Siri gets a significant overhaul in iOS 18.1, becoming more intuitive and responsive thanks to Apple Intelligence.
New Visual Design: When you activate Siri, you’ll now see a glowing pulse around the iPhone’s screen, signaling that the assistant is listening. This visual update gives Siri a more modern and interactive appearance.
Improved Understanding and Context: Siri is now better at interpreting spoken commands, even if patrons stumble over their words or change their requests mid-sentence. Additionally, Siri is capable of following up on questions without needing the user to repeat key details.
Text-Based Siri Requests: For those times when speaking out loud isn’t convenient, Siri now supports text-based requests. This feature adds versatility to how users can interact with the digital assistant.
Siri’s product knowledge is also improved, making it easier to get specific task-related answers, whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
While iOS 18 will eventually revamp Mail with specialized inboxes for personal messages, deals, receipts, and newsletters, the iOS 18.1 beta focuses on adding Apple Intelligence to your email experience.
Message Summaries: Instead of previewing the first few lines of an email, iOS 18.1 will show summaries, giving you a quick overview of what each message is about.
Priority Emails: Apple Intelligence can detect urgent calls to action and prioritize those emails, ensuring they appear at the top of your inbox for easy access.
Smart Replies: Similar to Gmail’s long-standing attribute, smart replies come to Apple Mail, with AI-generated responses tailored to specific questions in the emails you’re replying to.
Call and Recording Summaries
The Phone app in iOS 18.1 gets a major update with the ability to record calls and provide summaries and transcripts of those conversations. This is especially helpful for patrons who need to reference important details from calls. Similarly, the Notes app, which already supports audio transcription, now attributes summaries powered by Apple Intelligence, making it easier to sift through long recordings.
To access the iOS 18.1 public beta, you’ll need to be enrolled in Apple’s beta program. Once enrolled, you can find the update in the Software Updates section of the Settings app. After downloading the beta, head to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and join the waitlist to access these AI-powered attributes.
Currently, Apple Intelligence is accessible in the U.S., with plans to roll out to additional English-speaking countries by the end of the year. Support for more languages is expected to arrive throughout 2025.
With the iOS 18.1 public beta, Apple users are getting their first taste of Apple Intelligence. From smarter writing tools to enhanced photo editing and an upgraded Siri, this update marks a significant step forward in Apple’s AI capabilities. As more features are rolled out, iOS 18 is shaping up to be one of the most AI-driven updates yet.
