Apple launches iOS 18.3 with visual recognition, app integrations, and opt-in for Apple Intelligence

The news: Apple released iOS 18.3, which includes an automatic opt-in for Apple Intelligence features.

• New tools include visual intelligence, Genmoji emoji support for Macs, and the ability to change default apps.
• Apple also added beta support for Space X’s Starlink, a satellite texting service.

Users who downloaded iOS 18.3 but don’t want Apple Intelligence can disable it manually in their settings.

Apple Intelligence fanfare? The previous iOS 18 update integrated support for Apple Intelligence, but not all consumers were interested in those features.

• Apple revealed that 76% of iPhones released in the past four years are using iOS 18 as of January 21.
• While that’s a decent statistic, the fact that nearly a quarter of iPhone owners aren’t upgrading to the latest OS could indicate a lack of interest or lingering privacy concerns.

AI additions: iOS 18.3’s updates include AI image recognition and new app integrations.

• Users can access visual intelligence tools to identify plants, animals, and objects and learn more about them.
• The AI can also add events to calendars by scanning posters or flyers.

Not everything is AI: Calendar also gained an integration with Reminders, which allows users to create, edit, and view reminders from inside the Calendar app.

When on FaceTime, users can—with permission—remotely control the other caller’s phone to help them through tech issues and draw on their screens. This could be especially helpful when guiding someone through how to open an app or execute another phone task.

News snafus: In response to backlash over inaccurate news alerts, Apple has temporarily disabled its AI-powered notification summaries for news and entertainment apps.

Users can still get AI summaries for iPhone actions, but they now appear in italics to make their AI origins clearer. AI summaries can also be disabled entirely for specific apps.

Our take: Apple’s delayed launch and muted impact of its generative AI (genAI) features on iPhone 16 holiday sales could have Apple worried about wasted time and investment. Forcing users to act to opt out could be its effort to boost adoption and sway skeptical users.

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