Apple is making significant strides in artificial intelligence and device recovery, with two major announcements that will impact iPhone users worldwide.
Apple Intelligence Goes Global
Apple has quietly updated its roadmap for the rollout of Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI-powered features. Initially slated for release in US English next month, followed by expansion to major markets in December, the company has now revealed plans to bring these capabilities to a much wider audience in 2025.
The expanded list of supported languages and regions now includes:
- English (India)
- English (Singapore)
- German
- Italian
- Korean
- Portuguese
- Vietnamese
- And more to be announced
This is in addition to the previously announced support for Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish. The initial release will focus on AI-powered writing tools, with features like rewriting, proofreading, and summarization. Future updates are expected to incorporate image generation capabilities and an enhanced version of Siri.
Wireless Recovery for iPhone 16
In a separate development, iOS 18 introduces a groundbreaking feature for iPhone 16 users: wireless recovery. This new capability allows users to restore a bricked iPhone 16 without the need for a computer.
Key points about the wireless recovery feature:
- Works with any device running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18
- Currently exclusive to the iPhone 16 lineup due to a special recovery partition
- Activated when an iPhone 16 enters Recovery Mode
- Nearby iOS 18 devices will receive a Restore Nearby iPhone prompt
- Firmware is downloaded to the assisting device and wirelessly transferred to the affected iPhone
This feature builds on similar capabilities previously available for Apple Watch and Apple TV, significantly simplifying the recovery process for users.
While the wireless recovery is currently limited to the iPhone 16 series, it remains to be seen if Apple will extend this functionality to older iPhone models in future updates.
As Apple continues to innovate in both software and hardware, these updates demonstrate the company's commitment to enhancing user experience and expanding the capabilities of its devices. The global expansion of AI features and the introduction of wireless recovery options are likely to be welcomed by Apple users around the world.