iOS 18.1 release notes: Apple Intelligence, AirPods hearing aid, iPhone 16 crashing fix and other new features in this update

iOS 18.1 release notes: Apple Intelligence, AirPods hearing aid, iPhone 16 crashing fix and other new features in this update

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2024

Read the iOS 18.1 release notes detailing all the changes and fixes, including the first set of Apple Intelligence features for your iPhone.

Apple will release iOS 18.1 alongside iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 on October 28, 2024, bringing the first batch of Apple Intelligence features and FDA-approved hearing health features for AirPods Pro 2 owners.

iOS 18.1 brings other improvements, including resetting Control Center to factory layout, drag and drop in iPhone Mirroring, Camera Control tweaks, a watchlist in the TV app, hiding the option to disable AirPods noise cancellation, separate connectivity toggles in the Control Center and more.

The update includes important security patches and fixes for issues such as unexpected freezes and restarts that some iPhone 16 owners have. Apple doesn’t mention in the changelog whether iOS 18.1 addresses the abnormal battery drain some folks complained about.

To download and install an over-the-air iOS 18.1 update, go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the instructions. The current iPhone software version is displayed under iOS Version in Settings > General > About.

Apple’s official release notes for iOS 18.1

Here are the full release notes for iOS 18.1 that show up in Software Update and will also be available for your perusal on Apple’s support page.

This update introduces the first set of features powered by Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that unlocks powerful new ways to communicate, work and express yourself, all while protecting your data with an extraordinary step forward for privacy in Al. This release also includes enhancements to Camera Control, the ability to capture spatial photos, record phone calls and other features, bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone.

Apple Intelligence (All iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max)
● Writing Tools

● Writing Tools are available nearly everywhere you type, allowing you to 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 wording you like best
● Proofread lets you view suggested improvements to what you’re writing, like grammar fixes and language refinements
● Summarize allows you to select text wherever you’re writing and generate a high-quality summary

● Siri

● A new look and feel includes a glowing light that wraps around the edge of your screen, animates responsively to the sound of your voice and lets you keep scrolling or typing while you talk to Siri
● Type to Siri when you don’t want to speak a request out loud by double tapping at the bottom of the screen
● Richer language understanding enables Siri to follow along if you stumble over your words or change your mind mid-sentence
● Conversational context is maintained over the course of a session, so you can refer more naturally to something you said in a recent request or something Siri mentioned in a recent response
● Product knowledge helps you get answers to thousands of questions about the features and settings on your Apple products
● Voice enhancements make Siri sound more natural, expressive and clear

● Photos

● Photos search lets you find photos and videos simply by describing what you’re looking for
● Clean Up removes distractions in your photos
● Memory movies can be created by describing the story you want to see

● Notifications

● Notification summaries make it easy to catch up on your notifications with a glanceable summary of the most important information
● Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus that ensures the most urgent notifications get through to you while silencing potential distractions

● Smart Reply in Mail and Messages help you quickly respond to messages with suggested responses
● Priority messages in Mail understands the content of your messages and prioritizes those that require your attention, displaying them at the top of your inbox
● Transcription summaries in Notes give you an intelligently created summary of the transcript from your audio recording or call recording

Phone
● 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 photo capture, along with spatial video capture, is available in a 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 (intended for users 18 years or older)
● Hearing Aid feature provides personalized, clinical-grade assistance that is automatically applied to sounds in your environment as well as music, videos and calls (intended for users 18 years or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss)
● Hearing Protection feature helps users minimize exposure to loud environmental noise across listening modes (available in the United States and Canada)
● Features require AirPods Pro 2 with firmware version 7B19 or later.

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
● Control Center has new options to add connectivity controls individually and reset your configuration
● RCS Business Messaging lets you connect with businesses over RCS (requires carrier support)
● App Store search lets you use 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 receivers can see the invites in the inbox in Settings
● Fixes an issue in Podcasts where unplayed episodes are marked as played
● Fixes an issue where videos recorded at 4K 60 while the device is warm could experience stutter while scrubbing the video playback in Photos
● Fixes an issue where digital car keys may not unlock or start a vehicle with passive entry after restoring from a backup or transferring directly from another iPhone
● Fixes an issue where iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro models may unexpectedly restart

Relevant support documents

Not all features may be available for all countries or regions, and some require specific hardware. For further information, visit Apple’s iOS and iPadOS 18 Feature Availability and AirPods Pro Feature Availability pages.

For details on the security patches and important fixes in iOS 18.1, visit a separate support page detailing the security content of Apple’s software updates.

Apple Intelligence requirements

Apple Intelligence requires Apple’s A17 Pro chip or newer, meaning you need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or any iPhone 16 model.

You must opt into Apple Intelligence by selecting Join the Apple Intelligence Waitlist in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri. You’ll be notified when you can access Apple Intelligence, which shouldn’t take more than a few hours.

Apple Intelligence is available in beta in English only at launch; set both the Siri language in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Language and your device region in Settings > General > Language & Region to US English.

Apple notes that Apple Intelligence requires at least 4GB of free storage to use all the features. Apple Intelligence doesn’t work for residents of China and the European Union (EU) and those whose Apple Account country is in the EU.

Tags Apple Apple Intelligence iOS iOS 18 iOS 18.1 iPhone Release Notes
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