Apple’s latest mobile operating system update, iOS 18.1, finally brings AI (or Apple Intelligence) capabilities to anyone with a new iPhone. iPhone15 pro, iPhone16 and iPhone16 pro. iPad with an M-series processor (circa 2020 or newer) or Brand new iPad Mini iPad OS 18.1 also lets you add Apple Intelligence features.
However, installing the latest update does not automatically add Apple Intelligence features to your device. You must request access to Apple Intelligence and join the waitlist. Here’s how to get started with new AI technology.
See more: Other Apple Intelligence features such as ChatGPT will be removed in iOS 18.2 developer beta and Have iOS 18? Make some much-needed changes to your iPhone settings
Why is there a waiting list for Apple Intelligence?
During the developer and public beta of iOS 18.1, Apple gradually rolled out the first wave of Apple Intelligence features. Many of the new features will run locally on the iPhone, but some tasks will be handed off to Apple’s private cloud computing infrastructure.
Note that AI features tend to be computationally intensive, so Google Gemini and OpenAI handle most of their processing in the cloud. Tasks can be divided among hundreds or thousands of processors around the world. Apple’s Private Cloud Compute technology does the same thing, but with definitely fewer processors.
As iOS 18.1 gains wider adoption, Apple Intelligence’s waitlist will allow Apple to increase its computational load, rather than risk overwhelming its servers with millions of concurrent requests.
Look at this: Apple’s Monster iPhone update: How Apple Intelligence works in iOS 18.1
How to request access to Apple Intelligence
After downloading and installing iOS 18.1 on your iPhone, you made a backup before upgrading, right? – Open the Settings app and navigate to Apple Intelligence and Siri (Previously it was just Siri).
At the top of settings, tap Join the Apple Intelligence Waitlist > Join the Waitlist.
When will Apple Intelligence be available on my phone?
It’s unclear how long it will take to be granted access. It took several hours on my iPhone running the developer beta, but others booted in minutes. As work expands towards release, wait times may be longer.
As an example, the iOS 18.2 developer beta includes a new Image Playground app for creating source characters and AI-generated artwork, and Apple is rolling out access to it. It’s been a week and I’m still waiting to use it.
