Apple announced iOS 18 at its WWDC developers conference on June 10. One of the biggest software updates we've ever seen, iOS 18 brings some incredible new features and more customization options to the iPhone than ever before. But the biggest addition is Apple Intelligence – Apple's set of AI features. Unavailable in the first betas, plenty of Apple Intelligence features are now featured in iOS 18.1 Developer Beta 1.
Writing Tools now allow for rewriting, proofreading, and summarising text across various apps. Siri sports a new design with a glowing edge light, supports seamless switching between text and voice interactions, and can maintain context across requests. The Mail app gets an urgent emails section, email summaries, and Smart Reply. A new Focus mode limits notifications to urgent ones only. The Photos app now offers natural language search, specific moment searches in videos, and storyline-based Memories creation.
However, features like Image Playground, Genmoji, Priority Notifications, the new Siri with on-screen awareness, and Apple's ChatGPT integration are not available yet.
The biggest thing to point out here is that it's part of the Developer Beta. iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 Beta 1 are available to download over the air for developers enrolled in the program. We do not recommend installing the software on your main device, as it is still unstable.
If you do have the Developer Beta, there's a waitlist to start using Apple Intelligence features. So far, it seems that most are getting access pretty quickly. You'll also need an eligible device to use the features: an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, or any M-chip iPad. Oh, and you'll also have to be in the US. Fortunately, we've got a workaround for that last one, so you can access Apple Intelligence features in any country.
Apple Intelligence on first iOS 18.1 developer beta. There’s a waitlist, you need an iPhone 15 Pro. And you need to be in the US. Or make your iPhone think you are. pic.twitter.com/RJDdbVHglgJuly 29, 2024
How to get Apple Intelligence outside the US
It's worth mentioning that this isn't official by any means. It seems Apple doesn't want those outside the US using Apple Intelligence for the time being. So, this workaround may be blocked in the next update. But for the time being, it'll give you a chance to try out the new AI features.
Here's how to get Apple Intelligence working outside the US:
- Head into Settings, and head to General.
- Scroll down to Language & Region.
- Change your Region to United States, and make sure your language is set to English (United States).
- You can add your original language as a secondary option, but it might be trickier to use if you don't speak English.
- Wait for your device to reload.
- Head back to the main Settings menu, and go to Apple Intelligence & Siri.
- You might see the Apple Intelligence waitlist option available.
- If not, set Siri's language to English (United States) as well, and you should be good to go.
Once you're on the waitlist, you should be approved pretty quickly. But this may take longer as more people sign up. When the features are ready, you'll get a notification and will be able to start using Apple Intelligence features.
