First iOS 18.1 Beta Adds a Waitlist for Apple Intelligence Features

Apple has released today the first iOS 18.1 beta for developers (via 9to5Mac), which makes a initial set of Apple Intelligence features available behind a waitlist. The update is only available on the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max, but developers in the EU or China won’t have access to them.

After installing the first iOS 18.1 beta, registered developers will be able to join the Apple Intelligence waitlist in the Settings app. To get early access to the new generative AI features, both device language and Siri language must be set to US English, with device region also set to the US.

This first iOS 18 developer beta includes the following Apple Intelligence features:

Writing Tools: This is one of Apple’s flagship AI features that will let users rewrite, summarize, and proofread text across all apps.

Mail: The app will now show the most important emails at the top, and it will also be able to summarize email threads and provide reply suggestions.

Photos: The app will let users search for photos and videos (including specific moments in a video) using natural language. It will also let users create custom Memories with photos and videos intelligently selected from a natural language prompt.

Siri: The redesigned AI assistant now lets users switch between voice and text input on the fly. It can help users change system settings and remember context from previous interactions.

Transcriptions: Apple Intelligence can generate summaries for rceorded audio in the Notes and Phone apps.

Reduce interruptions: This new Focus option will better understand the content of notifications and only show the ones that might need immediate attention.

The first iPadOS 18.1 developer beta is also available today with the same Apple Intelligence features. However, it requires a recent iPad model with an M1 chip or newer.