Apple's software engineers have been internally testing iOS 18.5 since at least the start of February, according to the MacRumors visitor logs.
Ordinarily, the presence of iOS 18.5 in our logs would not be remarkable. However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple was considering delaying or limiting at least some of its promised Apple Intelligence enhancements for Siri until iOS 18.5, due to the presence of bugs and other software engineering issues.
The new Apple Intelligence features for Siri were originally expected to debut with iOS 18.4, according to Gurman. The enhancements include on-screen awareness, understanding of a user's personal context, and deeper per-app controls. For example, during its WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.
The first iOS 18.4 beta is expected to be released this week. Gurman said it is still possible that at least some of the Apple Intelligence features for Siri will be included in iOS 18.4, but they could be turned off by default. Even still, it is possible that the features might not be added until later iOS 18.4 beta versions, buying Apple more time.
Following the beta testing period, Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, but it is unclear if that timeframe will shift due to the reported bugs and potential delays with the Apple Intelligence for Siri rollout.
The first iOS 18.5 beta should arrive in April, and that update would likely be released in May, based on the typical iOS release schedule.
Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model.
