As Mark Gurman announced to us yesterday, iOS 18.1 Beta 1 has been released in anticipation of the public version of iOS 18 which won't arrive until September. The main novelty of this new version is Apple Intelligence, but don't get excited because you won't be able to try it yet.
If you have the Developer Betas activated, you can now install iOS 18.1, the first version of iOS 18 that will include Apple Intelligence. Everything indicates that when iOS 18 is launched, Apple's new Artificial Intelligence will not be ready yet and that we will have to wait until iOS 18.1, probably already during the month of October (who knows without later) to be able to start using it, and it will be in the form of "Beta". Apple wants to be cautious with its new Apple Intelligence and that is why it has done something that, without being unprecedented, is quite rare: release iOS 18.1 Beta when iOS 18 has not yet been released to the public. Right now when it comes to installing the iOS 18 Betas, you can choose to stay with the iOS 18 Betas or switch to the iOS 18.1 Betas. It is important to remember that as Apple Intelligence only works with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, this Beta only appears on those devices (in addition to iPads with an M processor and Macs with Apple Silicon).
But before you rush to install this new Beta, wait and finish reading because Apple Intelligence is not yet available to use. Once installed, if you meet the necessary requirements, you can join a waiting list to access Apple Intelligence in Beta, and you will be notified when it is available. And what are those requirements? Well, according to Apple, you must have your language set to US English and your phone's region to US. Apple also reminds that Apple Intelligence is not available in Europe or China. In my case, in Spain, not even setting my region and language to the United States gives me access to the waiting list.