Apple releases iOS 18.3 with AI-powered Apple Intelligence on by default

Apple has kicked off iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and MacOS 15.3 with one significant change affecting AI. Since its debut, Apple Intelligence has required the extra step of actually turning it on or opting in. But with the new versions, Apple’s AI feature is enabled by default for eliglble devices.

Enabled automatically for new and upgrading users

The release notes for the new OS versions released on Monday state that Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically for new and upgrading users, giving them immediate access to its AI-powered capabilities. Anyone who doesn’t want to use the AI will have to manually turn it off.

Also: I bought an iPhone 16 for its AI features, but I haven’t used them even once – here’s why

Eligible devices that can run Apple Intelligence

Only eligible devices can take advantage of Apple Intelligence. These include any iPhone 16, the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, any iPad Pro or iPad Air with an M1 chip or later, the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip, and Macs with an M1 chip or later.

Apple Intelligence now chews up around 7GB of storage, up from 4GB initially. Turning off the technology doesn’t automatically recover that space, at least not right away. But if you don’t plan to use the AI at all, you can certainly disable it. To do so, go to Settings, select Apple Intelligence & Siri, and then turn off the switch for Apple Intelligence.

What else has been updated?

The latest OS updates kick in a few more changes. Following issues with AI-generated summaries, Apple will now more clearly indicate when a summary has been cooked up through AI by italicizing the notice. On the downside, Apple has temporarily disabled notification summaries for news items following complaints that the summaries weren’t accurate or reliable.

Also: Why you shouldn’t buy the iPhone 16 for Apple Intelligence

Designed for the iPhone 16, the visual intelligence option lets you dig up details on people, places, and things that you capture with the Camera control. With iOS 18.3, you can now use visual intelligence to add an event to your calendar from a poster or flyer and identify plants and animals.

With MacOS 15.3, Apple has added Genmoji to the Mac, so you can create your own custom Genmoji based on text descriptions and people from your photo library. Plus, Apple has fixed a bug that prevented you from generating a Genmoji without selecting a different person from your library.

The latest versions also add several security patches. Within iOS/iPadOS 18.3 and macOS Sequoia 15.3 are 26 bug fixes covering such features as AirPlay, Passkeys, and Safari.

Also: What is Apple Intelligence? Everything to know

Otherwise, the new updates are relatively minor. More significant changes are expected with iOS/iPadOS 18.4 and MacOS 15.4 sometime this spring, most likely in late March or early April. Those will reportedly enhance Siri by adding on-screen awareness and integration with third-party apps.