iOS 18.3 is the third major update to the iOS 18 operating system, and while it isn't as feature rich as iOS 18.1 or iOS 18.2, there are some Apple Intelligence changes worth knowing about, as well as as some other tweaks, bug fixes, and security updates.
This guide covers everything new in iOS 18.3.
Apple Intelligence
After updating to iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence is an opt-out feature, not an opt-in feature. If you didn't have Apple Intelligence turned on, it's now turned on automatically, and you will need to go to the Apple Intelligence section of the Settings app to turn it off.
Apple Intelligence will also be automatically enabled on devices running iPadOS 18.3 and macOS Sequoia 15.3.
Apple Intelligence is available on the iPhone 15 Pro models, iPhone 16 Pro models, the iPad mini 7, and all Macs and iPads with an M-series chip. On these devices, Apple Intelligence is now turned on automatically when iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, or macOS Sequoia 15.3 is installed. In prior updates, you had to explicitly turn Apple Intelligence on to be able to use the feature set.
Visual Intelligence
For iPhone 16 models, there are new Visual Intelligence features that are accessible with Camera Control.
You can now use Visual Intelligence to add an event to the Calendar app, or to identify plants and animals.
Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries
iOS 18.3 makes several changes to Apple Intelligence Notification summaries to address complaints over notifications that have false news headlines.
Notification summaries for the News and Entertainment category have been temporarily disabled, and Apple is working on improvements. The feature will return in a future software update, but for now, these types of notifications will not be aggregated and summarized.
In the Settings app, when a user activates Notification summaries, Apple has added a warning that this is a beta feature, and that errors are a possibility.
For summaries that are still available through Apple Intelligence, the text is italicized as a way to distinguish them from standard notifications.
Apple also added an option to manage whether notifications are summarized for an app right from the Lock Screen. To turn off summaries from the Lock Screen, swipe to the left on a Notification summary and then tap on options to get to the menu to disable it on a per-app basis.
Calculator
Apple made a change to the Calculator app, returning a feature that was removed with iOS 18. You can once again tap the equals sign twice to repeat the last mathematical operation.
Apple removed repeating operations in iOS 18, but it's back. Some iPhone owners who used the Calculator app for things like calculating compound interest will now be able to do so again.
Black Unity Wallpaper
The update adds a new wallpaper to go along with a new watch face and new Apple Watch band that were announced today.
Bug Fixes
There are fixes for a couple of notable bugs.
- Siri Keyboard - The update addresses a bug that could cause the keyboard to disappear after you typed in a Siri request with the Type to Siri feature.
- Apple Music - iOS 18.3 fixes a bug that could cause audio playback to continue even after the Apple Music app is closed.
Security Updates
iOS 18.3 fixes 25 security vulnerabilities, including one that was actively exploited. A CoreMedia vulnerability could be used to elevate privileges, and Apple is aware of reports that it may have been used on devices running iOS 17.1 or earlier.
A Photos vulnerability could allow an attacker with physical access to an unlocked device to access the Photos app even when the iPhone is locked, and Apple fixed several issues with AirPlay that could allow attackers to execute code or crash apps.
Two kernel vulnerabilities that could let malicious apps gain kernel privileges were addressed, and there are a handful of WebKit fixes for Safari. Given the number of security holes that were patched, it's a good idea to install the software to get the latest fixes.
