Apple Intelligence waitlist: How long it takes to get off the waitlist

As part of its big week of Mac announcements, Apple let slip on Monday morning that the first wave of Apple Intelligence features have been let loose unto the world immediately.

Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone with a newer iPhone, iPad, or Mac can just use Apple Intelligence right now. It would be silly to simply allow people to use features that are out. Instead, you need to go through a (hopefully quick and painless) process to get Apple Intelligence activated on your iPhone. Here’s how it works.

Apple Intelligence: How long it takes to get off the waitlist

On its support website, Apple has a handy how-to list for getting Apple Intelligence off the ground on your device. Here’s a basic rundown of how it works:

1. Update to iOS 18.1

2. Go to Settings

3. Go to “Apple Intelligence & Siri”

4. Tap “Join Apple Intelligence Waiting List”

According to Apple, everyone has to sit on the waiting list before they can use Apple Intelligence. The company says you can expect to be let off the waiting list “within a few hours” of joining it, but wait times may vary. Ideally, it’ll be less than a day, but we’ll have to wait and see how it works for people online before knowing for sure.

As a reminder, this is just the first step of Apple Intelligence infecting all your devices. This rollout features rools for summarizing and proofreading text and removing unwanted images from existing photos, but heavily generative features like Genmoji and Image Playground aren’t available yet.