Apple has confirmed iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 for iPhone and iPad is launching next week.
Apple Confirms iOS 18.1 is Launching Next Week with Apple Intelligence and AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid Feature
A previous report said Apple was set to launch iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 with all of its Apple Intelligence features on October 28th. Today, Apple has confirmed that the 18.1 software update is launching next week, according to TheVerge.
Apple is showing off the new AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid feature to the press and said it will launch it to the general public next week with iOS 18.1 update. However, this also means Apple is set to launch iPadOS 18.1 as well as macOS 15.1 Sequoia.
It makes perfect sense for Apple to release all of its software together rather than spread them out over a course of few days.
iOS 18.1 is a huge update and it’s mostly about Apple Intelligence. It’s the first time Apple is going all-in with AI and it is starting things off with the most basic stuff such as Writing Tools and summaries in Mail and Safari.
Eventually, Apple is going to take things further with iOS 18.2 by bringing ChatGPT and Visual Intelligence to its devices. It’s evident that Apple is not putting all its eggs in one basket and want a slow and smooth rollout of features, allowing it to clean up bugs and improve performance is it moves along.
Given the amount of heat Apple is already taking from the press for delaying Apple Intelligence this much, everyone’s expectations are way too high for Apple Intelligence. But, so far, beta testers seem to be very impressed with what Apple has to offer.
The real test will begin when AI is in the hands of regular people. That is when Apple will know if it has managed to get things right.
We only have one week left to find out if Apple has done a fine job, or the opposite of that.