After one month of beta testing, Apple has now released iOS 18.3 for all iPhone users. The update includes changes to two key Apple Intelligence features, as well as a handful of big fixes and other enhancements.
Head below for a deep dive into everything new with iOS 18.3…
iOS 18.3 details
You can update to iOS 18.3 now by going to the Settings app on your iPhone, tapping “General,” then tapping “Software Update.” The update will then download to your devices and your iPhone will prompt you to reboot when it’s ready to complete the installation. The build number for today’s iOS 18.3 update is 22D63. Apple is also rolling out iPadOS 18 to iPad users today.
What’s new in iOS 18.3?
Apple Intelligence notification summary changes
iOS 18.3 brings multiple changes to the Apple Intelligence notification summaries feature. The changes come after multiple complaints from news outlets, spearheaded largely by the BBC. According to the BBC, the Apple Intelligence notification summaries feature incorrectly summarized multiple headlines from its BBC News app. In one example, Apple Intelligence falsely said that Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself.
In response to that pushback, Apple has made the following changes to notification summaries in iOS 18.3:
- Notification summaries have been temporarily disabled entirely for the News & Entertainment category of apps. Apple says the feature will be re-enabled for this category in a future software update as it continues to refine the experience.
- Notification summaries are now denoted by italicized text on the Lock Screen. This helps better distinguish them from normal notifications.
- You can now disable notification summaries for an app directly from the Lock Screen or Notification Center by swiping, tapping “Options,” then choosing the “Turn Off Summaries” option.
- When you enable notification summaries, iOS 18.3 will make it clearer that the feature – like all Apple Intelligence features – is a beta.
- In the Settings app, Apple now warns users that notification summaries “may contain errors.”
Visual Intelligence upgrades
It’s not all bad news for Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.3, however. Apple says that the update brings two new features to Visual Intelligence for iPhone 16 users:
- You can now add an event to Calendar from a poster or flyer. From the Visual Intelligence interface, just take a picture of that poster or flyer and Apple Intelligence will recognize the date and time of the event and add it to your calendar.
- Visual Intelligence can now easily identify a broader range of plants and animals.
Visual Intelligence is available on all iPhone 16 models and can be accessed by long-pressing on the Camera Control.
Apple Intelligence is now on by default in iOS 18.3
With iOS 18.3, Apple has also made what could be a controversial decision. The company says that Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically for users new or upgrading to iOS 18.3. This means that the features are no longer opt-in, but rather opt-out.
“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,” Apple explains.
To disable Apple Intelligence after updating to iOS 18.3, you can go to the Settings app, choose “Apple Intelligence & Siri,” then disable the Apple Intelligence toggle.
Other improvements
iOS 18.3 includes a handful of other smaller changes and improvements. Perhaps most notably, the update addresses a common complaint about the revamped Calculator app that was introduced first with iOS 18. With iOS 18.3, you can once again hit the equals button multiple times to perform new operations.
- Calculator repeats the last mathematical operation when you tap the equals sign again
- Fixes an issue where the keyboard might disappear when initiating a typed Siri request
- Resolves an issue where audio playback continues until the song ends even after closing Apple Music
iOS 18.3 wrap up
What do you think of the changes Apple has made with iOS 18.3? Do the updates to notification summaries go far enough to address some of the problems? Should Apple have chosen this update to enable Apple Intelligence by default? Let us know down in the comments.
Now that iOS 18.3 has been released to everyone, our attention shifts to iOS 18.4. This update is expected to bring major new Apple Intelligence features, including a more powerful Siri with personal context, in-app actions, and more.
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