Apple just announced the long-awaited update to the iPad Mini, which now includes an A17 Pro processor capable of running the upcoming Apple Intelligence features the company teased at its WWDC developer event earlier this year and during the launch of the iPhone 16 in September. Apple is certainly feeling the pressure from Google, Meta and every high tech company that added an "AI" slide to its pitch deck to incorporate more generative AI features into their products.
But when will that happen?
Apple, as is its custom, is notoriously tight-lipped about any specific details. Which means we get to make our informed guesses based on what we know already.
When will iOS 18.1 be widely released?
Apple said during its September event that the first AI features will arrive in beta form "next month." Now that we're halfway through October, a few signs point to a release before the calendar ticks over to November.
Developers or people enrolled in Apple's public beta program can install prerelease versions of iOS 18.1 right now and sign up to test Apple Intelligence. (The technology will also run on iPadOS 18.1 and MacOS Sequoia 15.1, but I'm using iOS 18.1 as shorthand to mean all three. As always, be smart about what you're getting into.)
The most recent developer beta is the seventh revision, which usually indicates Apple is close to release. The closest piece of specific information is a rumor from frequent Apple watcher Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who says the first Apple Intelligence features will arrive Oct. 28.
There have also been rumors of an Apple hardware event happening in late October, but in the same newsletter Gurman now estimates a Nov. 1 date introducing new M4-based laptops, a revamped M4 Mac Mini and an M4 iMac. He also tagged that date for a new iPad mini, which is what Apple announced this week and will start shipping Oct. 23.
The outlier here is that Apple's product pages all currently refer to Apple Intelligence coming "this fall," which might indicate that the schedule has slipped out of October. However, I'm going to remain optimistic and consider October still a real possibility.
Watch this: The iPhone Wasn't the Star of the iPhone 16 Event
Which devices will run Apple Intelligence?
Remember that Apple Intelligence will work only with the following models that are equipped with the A17 Pro or later (iPhone and iPad Mini) and M1 or later (Mac and iPad) processors:
iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPad Mini (Late 2024) iPad Air (M1 and later) iPad Pro (M1 and later) iPad (M1 and later) Mac computers with Apple Silicon (M-series)Read more: Before iOS 18.1 arrives, make sure you know about these 9 hidden iOS 18 features and how to remove annoying banners and other distractions in Safari.