What a week it’s been for Apple fans, with the launch of iOS 18 and the release of the iPhone 16 all happening in the next few days. This week in September comes around like Christmas every year, giving tech lovers the chance to grab a shiny new smartphone or breathe new life into their old one.
This year is no different, with the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max having arrived on 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 iPhone operating system, which itself brings home screen customization options that let you pick any color to tint your app icons, a new Passwords app to house all your login credentials and even an updated Calculator app for math notes. I haven’t even scratched the surface of iOS 18 yet, though; there’s plenty more to get excited about, and the OS works with every iPhone from the XS onwards.
So why the gloomy headline? After all, the iPhone 16 Pro seems like a solid upgrade over last year’s best iPhone, with a faster chip, camera upgrades, new buttons, better and bigger displays, and even better battery life. Touted as the “first iPhones built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence,” these new smartphones will propel us toward a new Apple AI future — well, sort of.
You see, all over Apple’s marketing for the latest iPhones you see people taking advantage of Apple Intelligence. New ads with The last of us‘ Bella Ramsey shows off how the actor uses AI to summarize emails, talk to the enhanced Siri, and create Movie Memories. All pretty cool, right? Sure, but each ad (in tiny white lettering) carries a disclaimer that Apple Intelligence won’t be available when the iPhone 16 launches on September 20.
Why, you ask? You just pre-ordered an iPhone 16 because of all the cool Apple Intelligence features you’ve seen on the London Underground or in the cinema. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Well, those Apple Intelligence features – like Writing Tools, Clean Up, and new Mail categories – are coming, but not in the initial release of iOS 18. It’s a bit of an odd situation, to be honest.
Apple sells its latest and greatest iPhones on a “what if?” basis, and as consumers we’re supposed to trust the process and jump on it. Unfortunately, the lack of key features at the launch of not only iPhone 16, but iOS 18 as well, means that these upgrades and updates all feel a little tepid.
Just check it out Apple’s iOS 18 Preview page if you don’t believe me: Apple Intelligence is the headline feature, followed by incremental updates to 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 won’t be available in iOS 18 at first, because that’s powered by Apple AI.
The promise of ‘what if?’
As a former Apple Retail employee, I don’t envy my ex-colleagues who have to explain to disgruntled customers why their fancy new iPhone can’t do the snazzy things they’ve seen advertised. In fact, it must be tough from a demo perspective: how do you make retail customers want a product without all the best features?
It’s an intriguing situation, but it’s not a long-term one. Apple Intelligence is coming to US English in October as part of iOS 18.1, and to other localized English languages in December. If you live in the UK, like me, you’ll be able to use Apple Intelligence when it launches in beta next month by simply changing your device’s language and Siri’s language.
But following the arrival of iOS 18.1, Apple’s intelligence tools will be released in a staggered manner, with no real timeframe for when we’ll be able to use everything we saw at WWDC 2024 in June. If current estimates are correct, Siri’s on-screen awareness won’t arrive until iOS 18.4, which is likely March 2025, while other features like Genmoji and Image Playground are slated for iOS 18.2, which is set to roll out just before New Year’s Eve, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
This is where my biggest concern lies: the promises of what’s to come. I’ve been using 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 an actually usable Siri are all pie-in-the-sky at this point. No one outside of Apple has even seen these AI tools in the flesh; they’re not even in beta testing as part of a Developer Beta yet.
So, can Genmoji even generate two emojis at once as seamlessly as we saw on stage? Does Image Playground work as well as some of the best AI image generators? No one’s guessing, we’re blindly trusting Apple based on the company’s track record in the past.
This 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 key selling point has been absent from an iPhone’s launch. A year from now, if all goes well, the confusing launch of Apple Intelligence will be a thing of the past. But if Genmoji or Image Playground turns into a replica of the AirPower debacle, the iPhone 16 launch could turn into an unmitigated nightmare for Apple.
If you’re in the market for a new iPhone, you’ll probably be happy to buy one based on the incredible new A18 chips, Camera Control, and other hardware improvements. When it comes to the new iPhones, however, it’s worth debating whether to upgrade now or in a few months.
With iOS 18, you’ll be happy if you want a few new features and a more stable iPhone operating system. But if you’re installing iOS 18 expecting Apple Intelligence and all that was promised, then you might feel a little disappointed.
Our early iPhone 16 review, early iPhone 16 Pro review, and Apple Intelligence hands-on point to a very exciting year ahead for Apple. Know what you’re getting into, because if you’re throwing away hard-earned cash on the promise of future features, you might regret your decision.
