Apple Intelligence has a waitlist in iOS 18.1, here’s why

iOS 18.1 is here, and it brings the first set of Apple Intelligence features. But if you’ve updated your iPhone, you might have noticed that AI access requires joining a waitlist. Here’s why.

Joining the Apple Intelligence waitlist

If you have a compatible iPhone model, iOS 18.1 is a huge update with a ton of new AI features.

To gain those new features, you first have to request access.

Apple will put you on a waitlist, and notify you when AI access has been granted.

If you haven’t yet joined the Apple Intelligence waitlist, you can do so by visiting Settings ⇾ Apple Intelligence & Siri.

But why is there a waitlist in the first place?

Why does the Apple Intelligence waitlist exist?

Apple is launching its new AI features with a ‘beta’ label. That means this technology is still somewhat in its early stages.

Per an Apple support doc:

Apple Intelligence uses generative models, and outputs may be inaccurate, unexpected, or offensive. Check important information for accuracy.

To minimize the potential risk for AI features going wrong, Apple is granting access over a period of time.

Over the summer, developers and public beta users got to test Apple Intelligence. Now, Apple is rolling it out to a broader set of users. All along, the company is gathering feedback that will help make its AI features better moving forward.

The nascency of these features is a big part of why Apple isn’t granting access to all users immediately. It wants to make sure not only that the features aren’t providing inaccurate or unexpected results, and also that they don’t run into issues with capacity on Apple’s servers.

Though Apple Intelligence largely runs on-device, it first needs to download several generative models from Apple. Some AI features also will need to ping Apple’s servers with every use via Private Cloud Compute.

How long is the wait?

The wait for Apple Intelligence access will vary depending on when you first installed iOS 18.1 and requested AI access.

If you installed the update and joined the waitlist right away, there’s a good chance you’ve already been granted access to the new features.

But the longer you hold off before updating, you may see more of a delay before getting off the waitlist.

Generally, throughout the developer and public betas, waits for AI access have been relatively short. But Apple is now releasing Apple Intelligence to many millions more users, so that previous pattern won’t necessarily be followed here.

Have you gotten off the Apple Intelligence waitlist? How long did it take? Let us know in the comments.

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