Apple's Latest Updates Re-Enable Apple Intelligence on Some Devices

[MacRumors]

Some users are reporting that Apple's latest software updates are quietly re-enabling Apple Intelligence features, even after they had explicitly disabled them in the previous update.

If you're catching up, Apple on Monday pushed out new macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 and iOS/iPadOS 18.3.1 point releases that include important security fixes and are recommended for all users. Shortly after the rollout, software developer Jeff Johnson collated some early reports complaining about the apparent behavior, noting that devices displaying a Welcome screen after updating were particularly susceptible to having Apple Intelligence automatically re-enabled.

Indeed, MacRumors testing confirms this behavior on certain devices. In our tests using an M4 Pro Mac mini, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and M4 iPad Pro – all with Apple Intelligence previously disabled in iOS/iPadOS 18.3 and macOS 15.3 – we found that while the iPhones and iPad maintained their disabled status after updating to iOS/iPadOS 18.3.1, the Mac mini automatically re-enabled the feature after updating.

The key trigger does seem to be the appearance of a Welcome screen announcing Apple Intelligence features. We saw it on the M4 Pro Mac mini after updating to macOS 15.3.1, but not on the iPhones or iPad Pro. Notably, unlike typical setup screens, this one lacks the usual "Set Up Later" option, effectively forcing you to proceed with enabling the feature.

Apple Intelligence splash screen on macOS Sequoia 15.3.1​

This automatic re-enabling obviously raises concerns about user choice, particularly given that Apple Intelligence requires up to 7GB of storage space on each device where it's activated. The storage requirement stems from the need to download and maintain local AI models for Apple's privacy-focused processing. Apple in macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iOS/iPadOS 18.3 controversially made Apple Intelligence an opt-out feature, meaning it is turned on automatically on compatible devices.

• Save 7GB of iPhone Storage Just by Toggling This Switch

Users who prefer to keep Apple Intelligence disabled should verify their settings after updating. On iPhone and iPad, check that the Apple Intelligence toggle is off in Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri. Mac users can find the toggle in System Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri. Did you update to iOS/iPadOS 18.3.1 or macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 overnight? Let us know in the comments what your experience was.

Article Link: Apple's Latest Updates Re-Enable Apple Intelligence on Some Devices

 

[cjsuk]

Yeah mine did this. Bloody annoying.

This is how I end up on a Pixel with LineageOS out of spite!

 

[txdawe]

iPhone 15 pro enabled apple intelligence, M3 Mac Book Air didn’t

 

[thefrost]

Deliberate behaviour?

 

[contacos]

I guess if no one uses it, you gotta force it. I still think the name is unfortunate. "Intelligence" sounds like spyware by some rogue government entity if you watched too many action movies or listened to one too many "Pegasus" podcasts

 

[nottorp]

Deliberate behaviour?

Could be incompetence. I've caught them reenabling icloud features I don't want on updates before, but it hasn't happened at least for the last 2 major OS versions.

We'll never know if they fixed it or they got scared and removed the intentional feature though.

 

[NMBob]

I've been going through all of the Settings after an iOS update catching things that get turned back on since iOS 4. Unfortunately it now takes a couple days with the explosion of settings in Settings. Fortunately my iPad 10.5" Pro is now immune to full iOS updates.

 

[Havalo]

If they don’t know what you’re doing, they don’t know what you’re doing wrong - Sir Humphrey.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Could be incompetence. I've caught them reenabling icloud features I don't want on updates before, but it hasn't happened at least for the last 2 major OS versions.

We'll never know if they fixed it or they got scared and removed the intentional feature though.

Yeah, but what seems different here is the “introduction” screen after update lacking the option to leave it off. This is deliberate, and I think coming from Apple, it’s a real shame they decided to go down this path.

 

[thefrost]

Could be incompetence. I've caught them reenabling icloud features I don't want on updates before, but it hasn't happened at least for the last 2 major OS versions.

We'll never know if they fixed it or they got scared and removed the intentional feature though.

Must have been frustrating.

 

[appleuser21]

Looks like Apple has been learning from the best in UI/UX design—Microsoft

 

[Kiwamu]

Yeah, noticed it. The updated even (re)installed the Playground app, which I deleted immedeately on my iPad Air 5th Gen (M1) Now the are nudging me in the "Settings" section under my account with "Image Creation Tools Are Here [...] Open Image Playground." which I don't want.

I'm happy for all those that do enjoy Apple Intelligence, but it's not for me.

 

[8667132]

First thing I checked on both phone and Mac and Apple Intelligence remained disabled on the phone but had re-enabled on the Mac. Luckily caught it before it tried to download any junk although the Apple Intelligence part of the MacOS under Storage has risen just under 6GB. :-/. There really needs to be a way to remove this, especially when its never been enabled.

However, the update DID also try to enable iCloud Files (syncing my Desktop and Documents folder) which is concerning as the last time it did that I ended up with every file quadruplicated on iCloud.

 

[cookiemonster89]

This will be the same as Bluetooth which always is on again after every system update ;-)

 

[Titillating Bustline]

This happened on my spouse’s M1 iMac - but not on my M3 iMac.

 

[thefrost]

I guess if no one uses it, you gotta force it. I still think the name is unfortunate. "Intelligence" sounds like spyware by some rogue government entity if you watched too many action movies or listened to one too many "Pegasus" podcasts

Yeah. They want to shove it down everyone's throat.

 

[Nekomichi]

iPhone 15 Pro Max here, previously I had Apple Intelligence disabled but when iOS 18.3 was installed it was silently re-enabled without warning. The initial boot-up after that update didn't display any kind of "welcome" or onboarding page and took me straight to the Home Screen without any indication that Apple Intelligence had been re-enabled.

To make matters worse, it's stuck in this perpetual "Downloading..." state and has been like this for the past two weeks. Despite my phone being connected to Wi-Fi and charging, it's not actually downloading anything (checked with a system monitor, there's little to no network activity).

There's also no longer a toggle button to disable Apple Intelligence and despite it being an incomplete download, it seems to be rampantly draining my battery (even though it's not supposed to do this while off-charge). Because of this, I can't manually disable the feature or force a redownload/reinstall. My device is stuck like this forever.

I've tried various combinations of reboots, changing region and language settings, and resetting network settings but none of it fixed the issue.

Yesterday's iOS 18.3.1 update also did absolutely nothing to address this.

On the other hand, neither iPadOS 18.3 nor 18.3.1 re-enabled Apple Intelligence on my M1 iPad. Apple's behaviour seems really inconsistent.

 

[locovaca]

Re-enabled on my iPP M4. Updating the macs now and bracing for the worst.

 

[Kiwamu]

On the other hand, neither iPadOS 18.3 nor 18.3.1 re-enabled Apple Intelligence on my M1 iPad. Apple's behaviour seems really inconsistent.

Which is odd, since my iPad Air 5th Gen (M1) got treated to the "We enabled Apple Intelligence for you because you accidently disabled it, silly!" treatment...

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I haven't updated my Mac yet, but it didn't re-enable on my 16 Pro.

Probably won't update my MacBook until this weekend, but I'll be on lookout.

 

[d5aqoëp]

Pointless as Apple Intelligence is available in very few countries and I have no interest in changing my phone country to US/UK just for that useless feature.

 

[cjsuk]

Pointless as Apple Intelligence is available in very few countries and I have no interest in changing my phone country to US/UK just for that useless feature.

Lucky person here living in a civilised area

 

[switz]

Updated to the *.1 v versions of the various operating systems and my M1 Ultra, M4 Max Laptop, M4 Pro Mini, iPhone 16 Pro Max, M4 iPad, iPad mini v7 Ultra 2 watch and none turned Apple Intelligence back on from the process. Other unwanted still being checked.

 

[cjsuk]

Ok it's disabled and it says this in the storage.

****ing bastards!

 

[StuBeck]

Deliberate behaviour?

Just their typical lack of testing and not thinking about how everyone operates.

They pushed out this update because of an edge case where physical access was needed and assumed everyone already was using their AI tools so never tested if they weren't.