Apple Confirms iPhone Upgrade With 2 Key New Features Is Here In Days

The next developer beta of iPhone software, iOS 18 is coming soon: Monday, June 24, to be exact. And, unusually, we have this release schedule from Apple itself, made in a statement that also talked about Apple Intelligence—and how it won’t be released in the EU this year. And now new information has emerged about exactly why the biggest beast of iOS 18, Apple Intelligence is only available on the very latest iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, plus devices with Apple M1 or more recent chips on board.

Updated June 14 with new details of the problems running Apple Intelligence on older iPhones.

ForbesApple Warns iPhone AI Features Delayed For Millions Of Users To 2025By David Phelan

The usual route for Apple, as pointed out by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter is that Apple’s latest features work on “a wide range of existing hardware.” But only two current iPhones will handle Apple Intelligence. In an interview with the excellent John Gruber from Daring Fireball, John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of AI, said ““You could, in theory, run these models on a very old device, but it would be so slow that it would not be useful.”

Hmm. An Apple iPhone 15 isn’t really very old, but it seems that the processor and memory on board the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are enough to run Apple Intelligence, even if the older can’t do justice to it.

According to MarkGurman again, it may come down to how Apple chose which processors to put in its latest models. “When the iPhone 14 line rolled out in 2022, Apple shifted its processor strategy. Instead of giving the Pro and non-Pro models the same chip, the company only put the new processor into the iPhone 14 Pro. That continued last year, with the iPhone 15 Pro getting the A17 Pro and the iPhone 15 standard models keeping the A16 and less memory (six gigabytes versus 8 gigabytes). The tech giant determined internally months ago that 8 gigabytes is the minimum needed to run Apple Intelligence.”

And maybe the neural engine, the part of the chip that looks after AI concerns, is less of an issue than was expected. As Gurman says, “The size of the neural engine is actually less of a factor. That component is practically the same on M1 Macs and iPads, which do support Apple Intelligence, as it is on the iPhone 13, 14 and 15, which do not. It’s almost entirely about memory. This is why Apple is boosting the memory on the regular iPhone 16 this fall: to support Intelligence and frame it as a key selling point. Every version of the 16 lineup will support the AI features.”

While Apple Intelligence will be available to test in beta this summer in the U.S., for instance, it’s coming much later in some places, such as the EU, according to the same Bloomberg newsletter. Gurman points out that Apple will withhold Apple Intelligence in the EU, “along with iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay Screen Sharing — because it’s afraid of running afoul of new regulations. At issue is the Digital Markets Act, a law aimed at reining in Big Tech that took effect this year.”

Apple cited interoperability requirements and for now EU users will miss out on iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay Screen Sharing—discussed below. Gurman asks how consumers will respond. “Will European customers put pressure on lawmakers if they resent not having the new features? With Apple already making other changes to accommodate the new law, most notably to its App Store, this year could be a testy one for its relationship with European regulators.” Back to the timetable of software releases.

Apple almost never gives the kind of detail as a release date, though the timing, two weeks after the first beta release is not surprising and fits with the usual cadence of beta releases at this stage. Here’s what’s coming.

The statement was made by Apple to The Verge on Friday, June 21, as part of the explanation of why Apple Intelligence will be delayed in the EU because of the recent Digital Markets Act.

Apple said again that Apple Intelligence will be available for beta testing in the summer, for users with U.S. English as their language, and with the EU caveat. But this Monday’s update will have two key features.

iPhone Mirroring

This is plenty cool. If your iPhone is in your bag, you can still use it on your Mac, for instance, and interact with it as easily as if it were in your hand. Notifications from the iPhone appear on the Mac and when you click on one, the iPhone appears on your Mac display.

You can then control it with your keyboard or the trackpad on the Mac, swiping between home screens or interacting with apps. And you’ll be able to drag and drop files between devices, though that is coming later.

SharePlay Screen Sharing

This is also very interesting. It already exists in iPadOS 17 but it’s being upgraded. In the new iPadOS 18 version, you’ll be able to draw on your iPad screen and what you draw will appear on your friend’s device. That’s relevant to iPhones because you can draw on their iPhone screen as well as iPad. And, even cooler, you can request permission to remote-control their device. This is something I’ve been wanting for a long time, especially to help friends or family members who aren’t quite sure about how to do something on their Apple device.

Apple Intelligence is not coming on Monday, but will be with us in the summer, and the public beta for the new OS versions will likely land in July.

ForbesApple iPhone 14 Pro Now Available At Lower Prices, RefurbishedBy David Phelan