Apple has been testing iOS 18.1 for almost as long as it did with iOS 18. The reason for this long period of beta is due to the company’s upcoming Apple Intelligence platform, expected to land later this month with iOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1, and iPadOS 18.1, with newer iPhone, Mac, and iPad models.
So far, there are two possible release dates for iOS 18.1. One of them might have been hinted by Apple, while the other one comes from a trusted source.
The first possible iOS 18.1 release date is October 23. This is when the company will start selling the new iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip. Since Apple teases Apple Intelligence availability, this could mean that the company is readying the release of this software for next Wednesday. However, since Cupertino also has been teasing Apple Intelligence for the new iPhone 16 models, even though it’s not out yet, this could be the same marketing strategy.
That said, the second and most likely release date for iOS 18.1 is October 28. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to launch iOS 18.1 in two weeks from now. A few days later, the company is expected to start selling new M4 Macs, although we are still waiting for a possible event announcement or new press releases from Apple.
BGR also corroborates Gurman’s report due to the beta cycle. iOS 18.1 is currently in the seventh testing version. To release iOS 18.1 on October 23, Cupertino needs to seed a Release Candidate version in the coming days, which seems unlikely. Even though the RC version can be available for only a day, it’s safer to assume Apple will take a few days with this build out before finally releasing iOS 18.1 to the public.
Still, it’s important to note that even with iOS 18.1 becoming available, the Apple Intelligence platform will remain in beta, which means Apple can say that any issue is part of a testing experience users agreed on.
We’ll let you know if we get a confirmation from Apple about the iOS 18.1 release date.
