iOS 18.3 turns on Apple Intelligence whether you want it or not

Apple is set to launch the iOS 18.3 update in the coming days and it’ll signal Apple Intelligence’s arrival as a feature that’s turned on by default.

With the release candidate beta update – meaning no more changes are expected before a full launch – now available, 9to5Mac spotted the change in the release notes.

It says Apple Intelligence will be turned on by default for those with new phones running iOS 18.3 out of the box and others upgrading to the OS. After that it’ll require users to proactively turn it off if they don’t want to use those features.

Previously, users have needed to manually enable Apple Intelligence features through the settings in order to access the features.

The notes read: “For users new or upgrading to iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically during iPhone onboarding. Users will have access to Apple Intelligence features after setting up their devices. To disable Apple Intelligence, users will need to navigate to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and turn off the Apple Intelligence toggle. This will disable Apple Intelligence features on their device.”

The change is set to be mirrored for iPadOS and macOS users who’re updating their software, the report says. It’s not clear whether this means Apple Intelligence is coming out of beta, but that appears unlikely given many features are still far from complete.

Elsewhere iOS 18.3 will feature further changes to Apple Intelligence, but not much in the way of new features. Indeed, in one case, an existing feature is being further refined and trimmed back following some early missteps.

The Notification Summaries – which aim to aggregate several notifications from a single app by using AI to abbreviate the content – are being disabled when it comes to News and Entertainment apps.

That follows a spate of inaccuracies that have caused misinformation to be spread from previously accurate headlines.

This was inevitable

Apple is very keen to get users au fait with Apple Intelligence, but it was wise to make it an opt-in only feature, given its a very much an acquired taste and something users have legitimate reservations about allowing into their lives.

There are certain elements people may be more accepting of than others. ChatGPT in Siri for example, will be a red flag for some, and I’d expect that element to still be opt in.

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