PSA: iOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia are finally out for everyone — but sans Apple Intelligence

We’ve been here before, haven’t we? A new product release rolls out, full of promises, only to keep the real goodies locked away for future updates. Well, welcome to 2024, where both iOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia have officially dropped — but don’t expect to meet Apple Intelligence just yet.

Let’s start with iOS 18, a smart upgrade that, despite missing its AI magic, still packs plenty of punch. This year, Apple has pushed customization to an uncharacteristically high level — and that’s coming from the company famous for telling you what’s best for you. For starters, you can now add, remove, and size up the Control Center widgets to your heart’s content, giving your iPhone a touch of personality that feels long overdue. It’s like Apple took a page from Android’s playbook, and you can finally organize your icons wherever you please, which is almost revolutionary in the Apple world. What’s next, iMessage on Android? Oh wait, RCS is here — so maybe we’re halfway there?

Speaking of RCS (Rich Communication Services), it’s a small change that could be a huge deal if you’re regularly texting your green-bubble friends. That’s right — no more frustrating “liked” text reactions showing up as entire messages. iOS 18 quietly starts using RCS when chatting with Android users, which means typing indicators, read receipts, and high-quality image sharing are now cross-platform luxuries. It’s not quite the blue-bubble dream, but at least now you won’t have to shame your Android buddies into switching phones.

Now, while we’re all enjoying these neat updates, we’re left wondering when Apple Intelligence will finally land. Apple’s been hyping it up, and to be fair, it sounds cool: think Siri with actual contextual awareness and a fancy glow-up. It’s set to revolutionize how you interact with your phone, but the keyword here is set. For now, we’ve only seen a sneak peek of Apple Intelligence’s features, such as email summaries and notification digests — exciting? Maybe, but don’t expect this to knock your socks off until sometime next year.

Jumping over to macOS Sequoia, it’s much of the same story. The headliner here is iPhone mirroring, which is honestly kind of awesome. You can now control your iPhone directly from your Mac, notifications and all. Type with your keyboard, scroll with your mouse, and soon you’ll be able to drag and drop between devices. It might just change how you interact with your phone — no more scrambling for your iPhone during meetings to check messages or update apps.

The OS also brings some cool window tiling tools, perfect for Mac users who’ve been juggling apps with external tools like BetterSnapTool for years. And, like iOS 18, macOS Sequoia is ready to offer you that new Passwords app — an Apple-ified password manager perfect for your parents who have no clue what Dashlane is. However, Apple Intelligence is again missing in action, and, like with iOS, it’s not clear exactly when the full experience will be available. At this point, we’re starting to think Apple’s new motto is “coming soon!”

To sum it up, iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia are both out now, and they’re bringing solid updates to your devices. But if you were hoping to get your hands on the headline-making Apple Intelligence, keep waiting. Tech companies have made a habit of dangling the carrot of game-changing features in front of us while keeping the real prize locked up for later updates. But hey, at least we can now customize our homescreens and send messages without feeling like we’re stuck in 2010. Let’s call that a win.