The first visual indication of the new Apple Intelligence on the iPhone in iOS 18.2 is Siri’s improved look – a vibrant rainbow of colors at the edge of the entire screen. But have you updated your iPhone and see the same animated sphere that’s been anchored to the bottom of the screen for several years?
I encountered the same thing and was confused too.
Turns out I had to take one more step before I could try it smarter Siri – as well as other Apple Intelligence features such as writing tools, Notification summaries and the Cleanup function in photos.
If you are seeing the same thing, here is why.
Siri’s new design is a glowing border that momentarily distorts everything.
Check this out: Apple is redesigning Siri with AI and glowing borders
Your iPhone may not be able to run Apple Intelligence
The latest System update is for anyone with an iPhone XS or newer, but that doesn’t mean everyone gets Apple Intelligence. Because much of AI computation occurs on devices, only a handful of models can actually run the new technologies:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
Apple Intelligence will also run on Macs and iPads with M-series processors and the latest version iPad Mini (which is powered by the A17 Pro chip).
If you own one of these models, you’ll see the shiny new look when you invoke Siri. On Mac, the Siri search box gets the same effect instead of the entire edges of the screen. If you have a different model, you will see the same Siri Ball.
For many people, Siri looks the same on iOS 18 as it does on iOS 17.
You may be on the Apple Intelligence waiting list
Officially, Apple Intelligence is also considered a beta function on supported devices. As part of this pre-release program, Apple is granting access to people who request it in waves. (For more information, see why Apple uses this waitlist approach.)
After installing iOS 18.2 (or iPadOS 18.2 or macOS Sequoia 15.2) you need to go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and tap Join the Apple Intelligence Waitlist > Join Waitlist. The new Siri effect will only appear after you request it and been granted Access.
Online reports and reports from friends suggest that people can start using Apple Intelligence after just a few hours of waiting. That will undoubtedly fluctuate as Apple balances demand on its network Private cloud computing Infrastructure.
Further information can be found here How to properly back up your iPhone before installing iOS 18.2 and Eight settings you’ll want to change first in iOS 18.2.
