The release of iOS 18.3 is on the horizon, as confirmed by today’s Release Candidate (RC) beta. Alongside enhancements to notification summaries, this update will automatically enable Apple Intelligence for iPhone users, with similar features arriving for Mac and iPad users soon.
Apple Intelligence shifts to an opt-out model in iOS 18.3
Previously, Apple Intelligence features required users to opt-in.
During the installation process of iOS 18.1 or 18.2, users were prompted to enable AI upgrades, and only upon confirmation would the features be made accessible.
This will change with iOS 18.3.
According to Apple’s recently released beta notes, iOS 18.3, as well as iPadOS 18.3 and macOS 15.3, will automatically activate Apple Intelligence when installed.
Here are the official specifics about this change:
For users setting up or upgrading to iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be automatically turned on during the iPhone onboarding process. Users will gain access to Apple Intelligence features after they set up their devices. To disable Apple Intelligence, they will have to go to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and toggle off the Apple Intelligence option, which will deactivate the features on their device.
Similar guidance is provided for the updates to iPadOS and macOS.
This change comes after months of public access to Apple Intelligence
For those with compatible AI devices, the majority have likely already activated Apple Intelligence.
However, for users who haven’t yet enabled these AI features, Apple will activate them automatically with this update.
It remains uncertain how the update will affect users who previously enabled Apple Intelligence but later disabled it in the Settings.
Hopefully, iOS 18.3 and its related updates won’t reactivate those features, but we will have to see what the public release brings.
While iOS 18.3 may seem like a feature-light release, it will introduce notable adjustments to AI notification summaries, which have been a source of controversy.
It appears Apple believes that, with these adjustments and a few months of public availability for Apple Intelligence, now is the appropriate time to enable its AI features by default.
What is your take on this change? Does it surprise you? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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