iOS 18.1 released with Apple Intelligence

Apple is now releasing iOS 18.1; This version brings Apple Intelligence, Apple’s suite of artificial intelligence features, along with iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

Apple Intelligence brings a host of new features, including Writing Tools, which can be used almost anywhere you can write and lets you rewrite, proofread, and summarize text; There are also new Siri changes where Siri looks smarter and better than before. The ability to leverage ChatGPT for specific queries, remove distractions with the new Clear feature, and improvements to Photos that let you search by describing what you’re looking for, notification summaries, a new Focus mode called Reduce Interruptions to allow AI to only view the most important notifications, and in Mail improvements bother you.

Along with all the AI ​​features, iOS 18.1 also brings new Camera Control improvements that let you quickly switch to the front camera on all 2024 iPhone models, and introduces a new Spatial photo and video capture on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. camera mode.

This update also brings the new AirPods Hearing Test feature to test your hearing, along with Hearing Aid compatible with AirPods 2 (which acts as a clinical-grade hearing aid) and Hearing Protection mode (which minimizes exposure to loud environmental noise).

The full list of changes in this update:

• Apple Intelligence (All iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max)

• Writing Tools

• Writing Tools are available almost wherever you write, letting you rewrite, proofread, and summarize text right in the app you’re working in
• Rewrite suggests different versions of your text; so you can choose which combination of flow and expression you like best
• Proofreading allows you to view suggested improvements to your writing, such as grammar corrections and language improvements
• Summarization lets you select text wherever you type and create a high-quality summary

• siri

• The new look and feel includes a bright light that wraps around the edge of your screen, moves in response to your voice, and lets you keep scrolling or typing while talking to Siri
• When you don’t want to say a request out loud, double-tap at the bottom of the screen to text it to Siri
• Richer language understanding lets Siri follow you if you mix up your words or change your mind mid-sentence
• Conversational context is maintained throughout the session, so you can more naturally refer to something you said in a recent request or something Siri mentioned in a recent response.
• Product information helps you answer thousands of questions about features and settings on your Apple products
• Voice enhancements make Siri’s voice more natural, expressive and clear

• Photos

• Photo search lets you find photos and videos by describing what you’re looking for
• Cleaning removes distractions from your photos
• Memory movies can be created by telling the story you want to see

• Notifications

• Notification summaries make it easy to keep track of your notifications with an eye-catching summary of the most important information
• Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus that delivers the most urgent notifications to you while muting potential distractions

• Smart Reply in Mail & Messages helps you quickly respond to messages with suggested replies
• Priority messages in Mail understand the content of your messages and display them at the top of your inbox, prioritizing the ones that need your attention.
• Transcription summaries in Notes provide an intelligently constructed summary of the transcription from your voice recording or call recording

• Telephone

• Call recordings and transcriptions let you record live calls and transcribe them in the Notes app, with an automatic announcement that the call is being recorded

• Camera

• Camera Control can quickly switch to the front TrueDepth Camera (iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max)
• Spatial video capture as well as spatial photo capture are available in the new Spatial camera mode (iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max)

• AirPods

• Hearing Test feature provides scientifically validated hearing test results from the comfort of home (aimed at users 18 and over)
• Hearing Aid feature provides personalized, clinical-grade assistance that automatically applies to sounds in your environment, as well as music, videos, and calls (aimed at users 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss)
• Hearing Protection feature helps users minimize exposure to loud environmental noise across a variety of listening modes (available in the United States and Canada)
• Features require AirPods Pro 2 with firmware version 7B19 or later. Not all features may be available in all countries or regions; For more information visit: https://apple.com/airpods-pro/feature-availability/

• This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

• Control Center has new options to add individual connection controls and reset your configuration
• RCS Business Messaging allows you to connect with businesses via RCS (requires carrier support)
• App Store search uses natural language to find what you’re looking for more easily
• Game Center friend invites can be sent directly from the Contacts app and Friend Suggestions, and recipients will see the invites in their inbox in Settings.
• Fixes an issue that caused unplayed episodes in podcasts to be marked as played
• Fixes an issue where videos recorded at 4K 60 while the device was warm would experience lag when playing video played back in Photos
• Addresses an issue where digital car keys will not unlock or start the vehicle with passive entry after restoring from a backup or transferring directly from another iPhone
• Addresses an issue that causes iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro models to restart unexpectedly

iOS 18.1 and other updates are now available for all compatible devices. Apple Intelligence is currently only available in US English and may require you to stay in the virtual queue for a while before it is activated.

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