Apple has started external beta testing of iOS 18.3, macOS 15.3 and the corresponding versions of the other in-house operating systems. Developers have been able to install beta 1 of iOS 18.3 on iPhones since Monday evening, and a first public beta is expected to follow soon. After the many feature additions and innovations around Apple Intelligence that iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 delivered in the past few weeks, Apple is now devoting itself to eliminating errors and laying the foundation for the next Apple Intelligence level.
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In the package insert for iOS and iPadOS 18.3, Apple only lists two bug fixes for the AI functions Writing Tools and Genmoji that are mainly relevant for app developers. The release notes of macOS 15.3 Sequoia currently do not contain any documented innovations or bug fixes. iOS 18.3 appears to be laying the groundwork for upcoming features, including delayed support for robot vacuum cleaners in Apple Home and new Apple Intelligence features around Siri. For iOS 18.3 and macOS 15.3, Apple is likely to target the end of January 2025 as the general release date.
Functional differences between iPhones, iPads and Macs
At the same time, the manufacturer is providing previously missing functions on other platforms: From macOS 15.3 onwards, Macs can now generate their own emojis using AI for the first time; this was previously only possible on iPhones and iPads. Other Apple Intelligence components such as the generation of photo recaps are currently still missing from macOS. The email categories in Apple Mail introduced with iOS 18.2 are also not found in the first beta of iPadOS 18.3 or in macOS 15.3. However, these may follow in a later beta version. The mail categories are currently only available in English. Apple has not yet announced when these will also work in German.
Apple Intelligence is already available on Macs within the EU, but initially only in English. Two other important functions remain blocked within the EU: iPhone mirroring on Macs and remote screen sharing on iOS and iPadOS are also not available in macOS 15.3 and iOS 18.3 with Apple accounts that are assigned to an EU member state. The company has not yet announced when Apple will activate these functions in the EU. Apple Intelligence is scheduled to officially come to iPhones and iPads in Europe in April 2025, then possibly directly in German and probably as part of iOS 18.4.
First renovation measures for Siri
So far, most of the improvements to Siri promised as part of Apple Intelligence are still missing. In the future, the voice assistance system will be able to gain deeper insights into app data and thus the user's personal context, be able to combine the information and, for example, control app functions via voice command. Developers need to support this in their apps. The implementation of these functions is currently mainly expected in iOS 18.4, perhaps the first components of them will appear earlier. A completely redesigned Siri system based on language models does not appear to be coming until iOS 19 in 2026.
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