iOS 18.4 Brings Apple Intelligence to India – Is Your iPhone Eligible?
New Delhi: Late Monday night, Apple began rolling out the iOS 18.4 update, introducing Apple Intelligence features to users in India. However, as expected, these features are limited to a select range of iPhones. Only users with iPhone 16 models—including iPhone 16e, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max—as well as iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will have access to these AI-powered capabilities.
Previously, Apple Intelligence was available in select regions, including the US, UK, Europe, and Canada. Now, the feature is being expanded globally, with support for more languages such as localized English (for India and Singapore), French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.
How to Enable Apple Intelligence Features?
If you own an eligible iPhone model, you can enable Apple Intelligence by updating to iOS 18.4. Simply go to Settings > General > Software Update on your device. The update is being rolled out in phases, so if you don’t see it yet, it should be available within the next few hours or days.
What Does Apple Intelligence Offer?
With Apple Intelligence, users gain access to a suite of AI-driven tools, including:
– Writing Tools: Rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across apps like Mail, Messages, Notes, and third-party apps.
– Smart Reply: Generates quick responses based on context, adapting to different languages for multilingual users.
– Clean Up: Allows users to remove unwanted objects from images.
– Genmoji & Image Playground: Create personalized emojis and themed images within Apple apps.
– Visual Intelligence: Identify objects using your iPhone’s camera. For example, point at a flower to learn its name, growing conditions, and replanting options.
– Enhanced Photos App: Features natural language search for quick image discovery and Memories, which generates video compilations based on written descriptions.
– Improved Siri: A redesigned interface with expanded language support, contextual understanding, and the ability to switch between voice and text input.
– Integrated ChatGPT: Siri and Writing Tools now leverage ChatGPT for generating content and analyzing images, with built-in privacy protections.
– Advanced Transcription & Summarization: The Notes and Phone apps now offer audio transcriptions and AI-generated summaries of key points.
– Smarter Email & Notifications: The Mail app introduces Priority Messages for urgent emails, while notification summaries help filter out non-essential alerts.
Apple Expands Language Support for Indian Users
Alongside Apple Intelligence, Apple has also announced system-wide support for 10 Indian languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, and Marathi. This means that not only can users type and chat in these languages, but system settings, the Calendar, and even the lock screen date and time will also be displayed in the selected language.
Enhanced Privacy & On-Device Processing
Apple ensures user privacy by processing most AI tasks on-device. For more complex requests, Private Cloud Compute allows Apple’s servers to handle processing while maintaining security. OpenAI does not store ChatGPT requests unless a user chooses to link their account. Additionally, Apple masks IP addresses to enhance privacy.
Final Thoughts
The rollout of Apple Intelligence was long overdue. Originally announced at WWDC 2024, it was expected to launch alongside the iPhone 15 series but was delayed for further refinement. Now, nearly a year later, Indian users can finally experience Apple’s AI-powered ecosystem on select devices.
If you own an iPhone 16 or iPhone 15 Pro series device, updating to iOS 18.4 will unlock a new era of AI-powered productivity and personalization, making your iPhone smarter than ever before.
