What a special week for Apple fans! The release of iOS 18 and the launch of the iPhone 16 will take place in the next few days. This particular week of September comes every year like Christmas and gives tech lovers the chance to grab a shiny new smartphone or give their old phone a new lease of life.
This year is no different: the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max have all hit the scene with exciting new features like Camera Control and larger displays on the Pro models. All four models are joined by iOS 18, the next generation of the iPhone operating system, which brings Home screen customization options that let you choose any color to tint your app icons, a new Passwords app to store all of your login information, and even an updated Calculator app with Math Notes. I’m not even scratching the surface with iOS 18, though – there’s a lot more to be excited about, and the OS works with every iPhone from the XS on up.
So why the depressing headline? After all, the iPhone 16 Pro looks like a solid upgrade from last year’s best iPhone, packing a faster chip, camera improvements, new buttons, better and bigger displays, and even better battery life. Billed as the “first iPhones designed from the ground up for Apple AI,” these new smartphones are propelling us into a new Apple AI future — well, sort of.
You see, in all of Apple's commercials for the latest iPhones, you'll find people taking advantage of the benefits of Apple Intelligence. The new ads featuring The last of us' Bella Ramsey shows the actor using AI to summarize emails, talk to the improved Siri, and create movie memories. All pretty cool, right? Sure, but in each ad (in small, white letters) there's a warning that Apple Intelligence won't be available at the iPhone 16 launch on September 20.
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Why? you might ask. You just pre-ordered an iPhone 16 because of all the cool Apple Intelligence features you've seen on the London Underground or at the movies. Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceWell, those Apple Intelligence features (like Writing Tools, Cleanup, and new Mail categories) are coming, but not in the first version of iOS 18. It's a bit of an odd situation, to be totally honest.
Apple sells the latest and greatest iPhones based on assumptions, and as consumers we're supposed to trust the process and go with the flow. Unfortunately, the lack of major features at launch, not only with the iPhone 16 but also with iOS 18, means that these updates and improvements aren't very good.
If you don't believe me, check out Apple's iOS 18 preview page: Apple Intelligence is the headline feature, followed by incremental updates to the apps we use every day and color customization options that should have come to the iPhone years ago. It's all very strange: even Mail's categories feature isn't initially available in iOS 18, because it's powered by Apple AI.
The promise of “what if?”
As a former Apple Retail employee, I don't envy any of my former colleagues who will have to explain to disgruntled customers why their fancy new iPhone can't do the fancy things they've seen in the ad. It will even be difficult for them from a demonstration perspective: how do you make retail customers want a product without its best features?
It's an intriguing situation, but it's not something that's going to last for long. Apple Intelligence is coming to US English in October as part of iOS 18.1, and then to other English-localized languages in December. If you're in the UK, like me, you can use Apple Intelligence when it launches in beta next month by simply changing the language on your device and Siri.
But after iOS 18.1 arrives, Apple’s Intelligence tools are coming in a scattered rollout with no real timeline for when we’ll be able to use everything it showed us at WWDC 2024 in June. If current estimates are correct, Siri screen awareness won’t arrive until iOS 18.4, which will likely arrive in March 2025, while other features like Genmoji and Image Playground are slated for iOS 18.2, which will start rolling out just before the turn of the year, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
This is where my biggest concern lies: the promises of what’s to come. I’ve used Apple Intelligence as part of the iOS 18.1 developer beta and I like what I’ve tried so far, but Genmoji, Image Playground, and the wonder of a truly useful Siri are just pipe dreams for now. No one outside of Apple has seen these AI tools in person; they’re not even in beta testing as part of a developer beta.
So can Genmoji generate two emojis together as seamlessly as we saw on stage? Does Image Playground work as well as some of the best AI image generators out there? No one has a clue, we’re just putting our blind faith in Apple based on the company’s track record of delivering in the past.
It wouldn’t be the first time Apple has launched a new iPhone with promises of future features (see Deep Fusion), but it is the first time such a major selling point simply doesn’t appear at an iPhone launch. In a year, if all goes well, the confusing launch of Apple Intelligence will be a thing of the distant past. But if Genmoji or Image Playground turn out to be a replica of the AirPower fiasco, then the iPhone 16 launch could be a nightmare for Apple.
If you're thinking about buying a new iPhone, then buying one that has the amazing A18 chips, Camera Control, and any of the other hardware improvements will likely make you happy. If you're thinking about the new iPhones because of Apple Intelligence, especially the features that aren't in iOS 18.1, then it's worth debating whether to upgrade now or in a few months.
With iOS 18, if you want some new features and a more stable iPhone operating system, you'll be happy. But if you install iOS 18 expecting Apple Intelligence and everything else you've been promised, then you might be a little disappointed.
Our first iPhone 16 reviews, first iPhone 16 Pro review, and hands-on experience from Apple Intelligence all make us think it's going to be a very exciting year for Apple. Just know what you're getting into, because if you spend your hard-earned money on the promise of future features, you might end up regretting your decision.
