Another iPhone update is almost upon us. If you feel that you’ve only just installed one, that’s because the most recent one was released on Monday, Jan. 27—and a curious, special re-release for the iPhone 11 series landed just days ago on Monday, Feb. 3. Nevertheless, the next update is almost here.
You might have been eagerly waiting for iOS 18.4 with its expected uptick in capability for Siri in the latest tranche of Apple Intelligence. But that’s not what’s coming first. Instead, there are signs that iOS 18.3.1 is on its way.
“Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website’s analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks,” says Joe Rossignol at MacRumors, and the site’s predictions in these matters is usually spot on.
This sounds like it will be a smaller update geared to bug fixes rather than the new features which are usually reserved for bigger-number releases like iOS 18.3 and iOS 18.4.
As for what’s in it exactly, it’s possible that the news and entertainment Apple Intelligence notification summaries which were turned off temporarily in iOS 18.3 because of uneven performance could be reinstated in iOS 18.3.1.
That’s a possibility but it seems too soon for me. Apple took the step of turning them off so it can take time to ensure they’re in great shape before flipping the switch the other way.
The thing is, it’s not long until iOS 18.4 is expected to arrive, as soon as next month or, more likely, April. The first developer beta for this update could have been expected by now, but it’s possible Apple wants to get closer to releasing iOS 18.3.1 before it does. As a rule of thumb, Apple only releases beta versions of the major updates, so there won’t be a beta for iOS 18.3.1.
So, when can we expect to see iOS 18.3.1?
MacRumors merely says it should be released within the next few weeks, but my suspicion is it could be soon, perhaps Monday, Feb. 17 or Tuesday, Feb. 18, though I can’t rule out the week after. Either way, this mystery release will be here soon.
