Apple is delaying new AI features and is planning a later release for enhanced stability and performance.
AI features will now be available after the initial release of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, which is expected in September. Bloomberg also reported that all these AI features will be open to developers for initial testing through IOS 18.1 and iPad OS 18.1 betas by the end of July 2024.
Some insiders claim that the company preferred to hold off on the planned AI features to allow more time to address bugs. This is quite unusual for Apple since it usually doesn’t give a glimpse of subsequent updates to the main software release.
The holdup is due to concerns for the stability of the newly generated Apple intelligence features. Apple is taking time to ensure clean consumer releases and needs developers to deal with possible problems.
It delivered the fourth beta of iOS 18 to developers last week, and development aims to end by the last week of July. This timing is particularly important since new iPhones, to be released in September, come with the latest software.
New features and future updates
The AI features collectively known as Apple intelligence encompass changes that include better notification sorting, solutions for summarising web pages and voice notes, writing aids, and integration with openAI’s chat GPT.
However, not all of these new Siri updates will be available on iOS 18.1 and iPasOS 18.1. Siri will continue to receive updates gradually, and all the features will be gradually updated until mid-2025.
Apple will also add AI functions to Mac computers with Apple chips as part of MacOS. It is also in the works for Vision Pro; however, they have not officially announced it yet.
Apple intelligence is Apple’s strategy to remain ahead of the pack in the current battles of generative adversarial networks.
The new features will serve last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and the upcoming iPhone 16 line. This move will likely improve sales since the iPhone 16 models will not have significant design differences.