iOS 18.1 Beta 4 Brings Call Recording to All Supported iPhone Models
With iOS 18.0 now out to the public, Apple has expanded its iOS 18.1 beta program with the fourth developer beta to all iPhone models that support iOS 18, with a public beta likely to follow soon.
This year, Apple took the unusual step of releasing an early developer beta of iOS 18.1 in late July, running a parallel beta cycle alongside iOS 18.0. Since this program was primarily intended to give developers early access to Apple Intelligence, the first three iOS 18.1 developer betas were limited to those iPhones that support Apple’s new AI features: the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Similar iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 betas were released for iPads and Macs equipped with Apple’s M-series silicon, enabling early access to Apple Intelligence on those devices as well.
However, while iOS 18.1 will be primarily about Apple Intelligence, the iOS 18.1 update won’t be limited to only those devices that support it. Today, Apple has confirmed that with the fourth iOS 18.1 developer beta that’s now available for all iPhone models that support iOS 18.0.
Call Recording Arrives for All
As expected, iOS 18.1 brings phone call recording to all iPhone models. When Apple announced this feature during the Apple Intelligence portion of its WWDC presentation, many were led to believe that it was an Apple Intelligence feature, and that was seemingly confirmed when it showed up in iOS 18.1.
However, Apple’s iOS 18 Preview page suggested it was coming to all iPhones as part of iOS 18.1; the fact that it was only available on Apple Intelligence iPhones was simply because that version wasn’t available on other models — until today.
The Apple Intelligence aspect of call recording is the same as it is for voice transcriptions. The ability to summarize call recordings will be limited to those devices that support Apple Intelligence. However, any iPhone running iOS 18.1 can record and transcribe audio. Plus, since that audio gets saved to the Notes app and synced via iCloud, an Apple Intelligence-capable iPad or Mac can then be used to generate a summary of the call.
What’s Else is Coming in iOS 18.1?
It’s unclear what other changes the iOS 18.1 beta will include for non-Apple Intelligence devices. Apple has announced that iOS 18.1 will include open up contactless payments to allow for third-party wallet apps. However, we’ll have to wait for developers to take advantage of those new APIs, and their apps won’t likely be approved before the public release of iOS 18.1.
Two other features that Apple announced for iOS 18 during its June Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that would be coming “later this year,” are smart categorization in the Apple Mail app and support for robot vacuum cleaners in the Home app. Mail categorization hasn’t yet appeared in any iOS 18.1 betas and could end up being held off until iOS 18.2. Robot vacuum cleaners will require accessory makers to actually produce some HomeKit-compatible robots, although the handful of Matter-equipped ‘bots should also be supported when this feature arrives.
While the Apple Mail categorization feature should be accessible on all iPhones running iOS 18 upon its release, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 users will have access to a few other AI-driven Mail features that are already operational in the iOS 18.1 betas. These include priority notifications, summarized emails and email previews, and Writing Tools that will offer smart replies and help proofread and re-style text in email messages. However, other than smart replies, Writing Tools aren’t specific to Apple Mail; they’re a system-wide feature that should be available in third-party email apps as well.
Another feature we’re still waiting for that could make an appearance in iOS 18.1 (and macOS Sequoia 15.1) is drag-and-drop for iPhone Mirroring. Although Apple mostly released iPhone Mirroring in iOS 18.0 and macOS Sequoia 15.0, the ability to drag-and-drop text, photos, and other objects between the Mac desktop and the mirrored iPhone is something that Apple says will be coming later this year.
Notably, the iOS 18.1 beta has also been released for the iPhone 16 lineup, so it will be available for anyone unwrapping a new iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro this Friday. That’s important not only because it will allow early adopters to get a taste of the new Apple Intelligence features right away, but it will also be necessary for those who are already running the iOS 18.1 beta on their older iPhones and want to transfer their data. It’s not possible to restore a backup made from a newer version of iOS onto an iPhone that’s running an older version.
While a public beta should arrive soon, we wouldn’t recommend jumping in solely in an attempt to fix problems with iOS 18.0. As a major point release that bakes in Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.1 is likely to have a few bugs of its own, while Apple will likely have iOS 18.0.1 out for bug fixes before iOS 18.1 is released to the public.
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