macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iOS 18.3 Enable Apple Intelligence Automatically

When installing macOS Sequoia 15.3, iOS 18.3, or iPadOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be turned on automatically on compatible devices, Apple says in the developer release notes for the updates.

Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

For users new or upgrading to iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically during iPhone onboarding. Users will have access to Apple Intelligence features after setting up their devices. To disable Apple Intelligence, users will need to navigate to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and turn off the Apple Intelligence toggle. This will disable Apple Intelligence features on their device

With ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.1, ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.2, iOS 18.1, and iOS 18.2, ‌Apple Intelligence‌ was opt-in rather than opt-out, and users who wanted the feature needed to turn it on in the Settings app. Going forward, it will be enabled by default, and Mac, iPhone, and iPad users who do not want to use the feature will need to turn it off.

‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.3 also brings Genmoji to the Mac for the first time, so Mac users will be able to create custom emoji characters after installing the update. All three new software updates add tweaks to the Notification summaries feature to make it more clear when a notification contains AI-generated information.

Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.3 today, which means the software updates will see a release in the near future. We are expecting the updates to launch to the public next week.

Related Roundup: macOS Sequoia
Related Forum: macOS Sequoia

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Top Rated Comments

mystery hill Avatar
3 weeks ago
Apple is becoming the new Microsoft.

This should be opt-in.
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
3 weeks ago

Apple Intelligence will be turned on
I wasn’t expecting sexual arousal to be implemented in AI so soon.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
3 weeks ago
iOS 18.3 did this too. This is upsetting; I was previously very happy with Apple for making this opt-in. Seems they're going back on that.

Some of us DO NOT want this. Please respect our wishes.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
3 weeks ago

Apple is becoming the new Microsoft.
No, Microsoft wouldn't offer a toggle, you'd need to go into the Registry and remove some keys and have to do that periodically after updates.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nermal Avatar
3 weeks ago

But I wonder why they decided to go with automatically turned on this time.
"We spent so much money on this, and people aren't using it!"
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MallardDuck Avatar
3 weeks ago
Thanks, I'll remember to turn it back off after upgrading. I wish they had more granular permissions - I don't want it on in messages or mail, but don't mind it in Siri.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)