The iPhone 16 range has received its first Apple Intelligence update via iOS 18.1 beta 3
Apple Intelligence arrives for the iPhone 16 lineup as a part of the updated iOS 18.1 beta 3, which is needed for testing ahead of reviews and pre-orders.
On Wednesday, Apple released the third beta of iOS 18.1 for the iPhone 16 range. Though this version of iOS was already available for devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, this is the first known build of iOS 18.1 beta 3 for the iPhone 16 lineup.
On the iPhone 16, the update has the build number 22B5034o, while the version iOS 18.1 beta 3 for the iPhone 15 Pro has the build number 22B5034e.
Apple likely released this beta update as a way of bringing Apple Intelligence to the iPhone 16, ahead of its official debut in stores. The company typically sends out review units to various media sites, and the latest iOS 18.1 beta would give reviewers time to prepare and set up Apple Intelligence on their respective test devices.
The iPhone 16 comes pre-installed with iOS 18.0, meaning that Apple Intelligence features are not available right out of the box, hence the need for the iOS 18.1 beta update.
Apple’s iPhone 16 range was officially announced at the company’s Glowtime event held on Monday. The event keynote featured an entire segment focused solely on Apple Intelligence and the generative AI tools the iPhone 16 will receive. The Apple Intelligence segment was largely a recap of features and apps announced at WWDC on June 10, 2024.
What Apple Intelligence brings to the iPhone
Apple Intelligence gives users access to Apple’s on-device and cloud-based generative AI models. Writing Tools leverages Apple Intelligence and offers a more convenient way of editing text. With Writing Tools, users can adjust the tone of a text and make it sound more concise, friendly, or professional.
Apple Intelligence brings generative AI software to the iPhone via iOS 18.1
The built-in AI also powers various other features such as email and notification summarization, AI-generated Smart Replies. In the Mail app, users of Apple Intelligence receive only the most important details of an email through a short summary. The software can also automatically categorize emails based on their text and subject matter.
The new Clean Up tool also uses Apple Intelligence. It lets users remove unwanted or distracting objects from an image with relative ease by leveraging Apple’s on-device generative AI. Siri will greatly benefit from Apple Intelligence as well, as the virtual assistant will be able to understand complex multi-step commands.
An early preview of certain Apple Intelligence features is available via the third beta of iOS 18.1, which was released in late August of 2024 for the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad or Mac devices with an M1 or newer system-on-chip.
Apple Intelligence features are made available via a gradual rollout process. Each beta version of iOS 18.1 introduced new Apple Intelligence features, with the latest version adding support for the Clean Up tool that lets users remove objects from photos via AI. The final version of iOS 18.1 is expected to debut in October of 2024.
iPhone 16-only Apple Intelligence features, and what we can expect from future iOS 18 updates
The latest iOS 18.1 beta for iPhone 16 is expected to bring Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone 16. It’s worth noting, however, that the iPhone 16 features unique hardware in the form of the new capacitive Camera Control button.
The iPhone 16 range features a new Camera Control button, which will work with Apple Intelligence.
The Camera Control button will work together with Apple Intelligence to help users identify objects or locations of interest as part of a new feature known as Visual Intelligence.
With Visual Intelligence, users will be able to click and hold the Camera Control, point their iPhone towards an object or location, and receive information about it. For instance, pointing an iPhone 16 towards a restaurant will show information about its ratings or working hours. In the same way, users will be able to add a Calendar event by scanning a flyer and will also be able to identify a dog by its breed.
Apple says the Visual Intelligence feature will be available later in 2024. This means it could arrive as part of a subsequent iOS 18 update, such as iOS 18.2. The Image Playground app, which will let users generate images and emojis through Apple Intelligence, also has yet to make its debut, meaning that we could also see it as part of iOS 18.2 around December of 2024.