iPadOS 18.1 release notes: Apple Intelligence, AirPods hearing health and other new features in this iPad update

Peruse the iPadOS 18.1 release notes for details about all the new features, changes and fixes, including the first set of Apple Intelligence features for your iPad.

Apple will release iPadOS 18.1 alongside iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 on October 28, 2024, bringing the first batch of Apple Intelligence features and FDA-approved hearing health features for AirPods Pro 2 owners.

iPadOS 18.1 brings other under-the-hood changes and improvements, including resetting Control Center to factory layout, a watchlist in the TV app, hiding the option to disable AirPods noise cancellation, separate connectivity toggles in the Control Center and more. The update includes important security patches and bug fixes.

To download and install iPadOS 18.1 over the air, go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the instructions. The current iPad software version is displayed under iPadOS Version in Settings > General > About.

Apple’s official release notes for iPadOS 18.1

Here are the full release notes for iPadOS 18.1 that appear in Software Update and will also be available for your perusal on Apple’s support page.

This update introduces the first set of features powered by Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that unlocks powerful new ways to communicate, work and express yourself, all while protecting your data with an extraordinary step forward for privacy in Al. It also includes other features, bug fixes and security updates for your iPad.

Apple Intelligence (iPad with M1 and later)
● Writing Tools

● Writing Tools are available nearly everywhere you type, allowing you to rewrite, proofread and summarize text right in the app you’re working in
● Rewrite suggests different versions of your text so you can choose which combination of flow and wording you like best
● Proofread lets you view suggested improvements to what you’re writing, like grammar fixes and language refinements
● Summarize allows you to select text wherever you’re writing and generate a high-quality summary

● Siri

● A new look and feel includes a glowing light that wraps around the edge of your screen, animates responsively to the sound of your voice and lets you keep scrolling or typing while you talk to Siri
● Type to Siri when you don’t want to speak a request out loud
● Richer language understanding enables Siri to follow along if you stumble over your words or change your mind mid-sentence
● Conversational context is maintained over the course of a session, so you can refer more naturally to something you said in a recent request or something Siri mentioned in a recent response
● Product knowledge helps you get answers to thousands of questions about the features and settings on your Apple products
● Voice enhancements make Siri sound more natural, expressive and clear

● Photos

● Photos search lets you find photos and videos simply by describing what you’re looking for
● Clean Up removes distractions in your photos
● Memory movies can be created by describing the story you want to see

● Notifications

● Notification summaries make it easy to catch up on your notifications with a glanceable summary of the most important information
● Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus that ensures the most urgent notifications get through to you while silencing potential distractions

● Smart Reply in Mail and Messages help you quickly respond to messages with suggested responses
● Transcription summaries in Notes give you an intelligently created summary of the transcript from your audio recording

AirPods
● Hearing Test feature provides scientifically-validated hearing test results from the comfort of home (intended for users 18 years or older)
● Hearing Aid feature provides personalized, clinical-grade assistance that is automatically applied to sounds in your environment as well as music, videos and calls (intended for users 18 years or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss)
● Hearing Protection feature helps users minimize exposure to loud environmental noise across listening modes (available in the United States and Canada)
● Features require AirPods Pro 2 with firmware version 7B19 or later.

This update also includes the following improvements:
● Control Center has new options to add connectivity controls individually and reset your configuration
● Game Center friend invites can be sent directly from the Contacts app and Friend Suggestions and receivers can see the invites in the inbox in Settings

Relevant support documents

Not all features may be available for all countries or regions, and some require specific hardware. For further information, visit Apple’s iOS and iPadOS 18 Feature Availability and AirPods Pro Feature Availability pages.

For details on the security patches and important fixes in iOS 18.1, visit a separate support page detailing the security content of Apple’s software updates.

Apple Intelligence requirements

Apple Intelligence on iPad requires Apple silicon. If your iPad uses the Apple M1 chip or newer, it’s compatible with Apple Intelligence.

You must opt into Apple Intelligence by selecting Join the Apple Intelligence Waitlist in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri. You’ll be notified when you can access Apple Intelligence, which shouldn’t take more than a few hours.

Apple Intelligence is available in beta in English only at launch; set both the Siri language in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Language and your device region in Settings > General > Language & Region to US English.

Apple notes that Apple Intelligence requires at least 4GB of free storage to use all the features. Apple Intelligence doesn’t work for residents of China and the European Union (EU) and those whose Apple Account country is in the EU.

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