The next wave of Apple Intelligence features have rolled out with iOS 18.2, including the ability to make custom emoji and get information about what's in front of you using Visual Intelligence. They join existing enhancements such as writing tools and the Clean Up tool in Apple Photos.
But installing the latest updates doesn't automatically add the Apple Intelligence features to your devices. You'll need to request access to Apple Intelligence and join a wait list. Here's how to get started with the new AI technologies.
See more: More Apple Intelligence Features Like ChatGPT Drop With the iOS 18.2 Developer Beta and Got iOS 18? Make These Long-Awaited Changes to Your iPhone Settings
First, check your device model
Apple Intelligence features require powerful processors, so Apple has limited Apple Intelligence support to the following devices:
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPad Air and iPad Pro with an M-series chip
- iPad mini (2024) with A17 Pro chip
- Any Mac with an M-series chip
If your device isn't on the list, Apple Intelligence won't run.
Why is there an Apple Intelligence wait list?
During the developer and public betas of iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2, Apple gradually rolled out waves of Apple Intelligence features. Although many of the new features run locally on your iPhone, some tasks get handed off to Apple's Private Cloud Compute infrastructure.
Keep in mind that AI features tend to be computationally demanding, which is why Google Gemini and OpenAI handle most of their processing in the cloud. They can divide up a task among hundreds or thousands of processors around the world. Apple's Private Cloud Compute technology does the same thing, but with what is surely a smaller number of processors.
Rather than risk overwhelming the servers with millions of simultaneous requests as iOS 18.2 is adopted broadly, an Apple Intelligence waitlist gives Apple the ability to ramp up the computational load.
How to request access to Apple Intelligence
After downloading and installing iOS 18.2 onto your iPhone – you made a backup before upgrading, right? – open the Settings app and go to Apple Intelligence & Siri (formerly just Siri).
At the top of the settings, tap Join the Apple Intelligence Waitlist > Join Waitlist.
When will Apple Intelligence be available on my phone?
How long it will take to be granted access is unknown. On my iPhone running the developer beta it took a few hours, while others got in after a few minutes. As things have scaled up for the release, wait times could be longer.Â
As one example, when I was running the iOS 18.2 developer beta, which included the new Image Playground app to create Genmoji and AI-generated artwork, I had to wait several weeks before I could start playing with them. With iOS 18.2 now available broadly, it remains to be seen what the waitlist will be like.