Apple Intelligence was the main topic of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, which took place last week. The Cupertino-based tech giant has announced a slew of new artificial intelligence (AI) features and capabilities for its operating systems. However, a new report claims that some of these features won’t be ready when iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia are released globally later this year. Some of these features, especially those involving the virtual assistant Siri, could even take until 2025 before they are widely available to users.
Some Apple Intelligence features may experience delays
According to a report by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg in his Power On newsletter, Apple does not plan to introduce some AI features until late 2024 and early 2025. The recent release of the first development beta of the operating software also indicates the same, as they lack several AI features. Gurman noted that the tech giant prefers to deliver as many new features as possible with the first developer beta to give developers enough time to integrate new experiences into their apps.
If the report is to be believed, not only will some features be delayed, but when they do arrive, they will only be available in preview. This means that only a select group of users will get access to the features at first, and it will slowly roll out to a larger user base.
This new feature deployment strategy will reportedly bring several new benefits for Apple. Gurman claims this phased approach will allow the company to better manage its resources and not strain staff or compromise features. Training AI in different global languages is also a long-term challenge, as is building its Private Cloud Compute cloud infrastructure. Furthermore, the report emphasizes that this extra time could be used to solve the problem of AI hallucinations (chatbots that give nonsensical answers).
Finally, as previously reported, Apple is still looking for more third-party AI chatbot creators to integrate into its platform. The company is reportedly in talks with Google for its Gemini AI and Anthropic for Claude AI. In China, where most international AI chatbots are not available, the tech giant is reportedly targeting partnerships with Baidu and Alibaba.
Apple Intelligence features that could arrive in late 2024
Notably, the Mail app won’t get some of its AI capabilities until later this year. These features reportedly include the ability to categorize emails into different tabs such as newsletters, announcements and shopping. Another feature called Swift Assist, which is a cloud-based AI programming companion for Xcode, won’t be available until closer to the end of the year.
In addition to these, some non-AI features are also unlikely to be present when iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia arrive this fall. This reportedly includes Mac Virtual Display on Vision Pro, live sports simulcasting on the Apple TV app, support for the Home app to control vacuum cleaners, and monitor home electricity consumption.
Apple Intelligence features coming in 2025
Most of Siri’s new AI capabilities won’t be available to users until next year, according to Gurman. These reportedly include contextual awareness and natural language responses, semantic indexing for Siri’s understanding of device content and personal data, integration with native apps, and computer vision that allows the virtual assistant to read the currently open screen.
However, several Apple Intelligence features will still be available with the first general release of upcoming operating systems. This is said to include AI-powered priority notifications, AI web page digests, voice memos, meeting notes and email. Furthermore, system-wide writing tools, image generation and custom AI emoji creator Genmoji.
