iOS 18.2: Apple Intelligence image features have a waitlist, here’s why

Apple just launched the public beta for iOS 18.2. If you’re excited to try out the latest Apple Intelligence features and more, we have an important PSA to share. Image features like Genmoji and Image Playground come with a waitlist in iOS 18.2, so you may not get access right away. Here’s why.

Details for iOS 18.2’s new AI waitlist

When iOS 18.1 arrived with the first wave of Apple Intelligence features, Apple utilized a waitlist. Most users, from what we’ve heard, didn’t have to wait too long for AI access though.

With iOS 18.2, there’s a new waitlist specifically for the Apple Intelligence image tools. These include:

• Genmoji
• Image Playground
• and Image Wand

After installing the iOS 18.2 beta, you can open the Image Playground app, or the Genmoji tool inside the emoji keyboard, and request access to the new image tools.

Once you’ve requested access, you’ll be on Apple’s waitlist.

But this time around, the wait may be longer than with iOS 18.1’s AI features. In fact, it could stretch out several weeks.

Why the wait?

Because Apple is being very careful with this beta period. It wants to ensure that its AI image tools are working properly, producing their expected results, and aren’t being misused.

Waitlist is part of Apple’s process to create ‘responsible AI’

There have been countless stories of other AI products being used for harm, especially image tools. Users have created deceptive deepfakes, NSFW versions of popular IP, and a lot of other inappropriate AI creations.

One of Apple’s ‘Responsible AI’ principles is to ‘Design with care.’ Here’s what that means:

We take precautions at every stage of our process, including design, model training, feature development, and quality evaluation to identify how our AI tools may be misused or lead to potential harm. We will continuously and proactively improve our AI tools with the help of user feedback.

That principle is very much at the core of iOS 18.2’s image tool waitlist.

The company is rolling out feature access slowly, and soliciting user feedback along the way so that it can continue to improve its AI tools before they ship publicly to millions of users next month.

So while the wait might take a little while, know that there’s a good reason behind it.

Have you received access to iOS 18.2’s image features? How long was your wait? Let us know in the comments.

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