Apple Intelligence release date leaked – here's when the first AI features are set to arrive on your iPhone

Apple Intelligence
(Image credit: Apple)

The Apple Intelligence release date has been leaked, and when Apple said its AI features would arrive in October, it meant… Late October.

According to top insider Mark Gurman in Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Apple Intelligence’s first wave of AI features will be coming to iPhone, iPad, and Mac on October 28, more than a month after the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro launch.

Apple Intelligence arrives as part of iOS 18.1 and will be accessible on a small selection of the best iPhones including the iPhone 16 lineup and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. iPhone 15 users will sadly miss out on Apple’s first venture into the world of AI.

While October 28 will see the arrival of Apple Intelligence, it only spells the start of Apple’s AI rollout. This first batch of Apple Intelligence features will include Writing Tools for proofreading and rewriting, Smart Replies to quickly reply to messages, Notification Summaries, Clean Up in Photos, and a redesign of Siri.

A new era

iPhone 16 Pro Max with Apple Intelligence

(Image credit: Future / Apple)

Other features like ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, and Image Playground are expected to arrive with iOS 18.2 before the end of the year with Siri’s major Apple Intelligence overhaul due around March 2025.

Apple’s AI rollout has been met with some skepticism considering the iPhone 16 lineup is currently on sale advertised as the ‘first iPhone built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence.’ By the time early adopters finally get their hands on Apple Intelligence, the phones will be over a month old, despite all of Apple’s marketing heavily focused on AI.

It’s also worth noting this October 28 release date will only be for US English, users in the UK who don’t want to change their device language will need to wait until later this year to use Apple Intelligence and EU iPhone owners might not be getting AI features at all.

Our iOS 18.1 Apple Intelligence hands-on will give you all the information you need on what to expect when Apple AI finally becomes available later this month. You can also check out our iPhone 16 Pro review for early impressions on Apple Intelligence.

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John-Anthony Disotto
Senior Writer AI

John-Anthony Disotto is TechRadar's Senior Writer, AI, bringing you the latest news on, and comprehensive coverage of, tech's biggest buzzword. An expert on all things Apple, he was previously iMore's How To Editor, and has a monthly column in MacFormat. He's based in Edinburgh, 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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