It has been about 3 weeks since Apple officially released iOS 18.3, which has given me enough time to try the update and assess what has changed. It is not a major release, but iOS 18.3 still brings some improvements to performance, smoothness, battery life, and AI features. So how does it hold up in real-world use? Let's take a closer look.
How to Update to iOS 18.3
If your iPhone supports iOS 18.3, updating is simple:
- Go to Settings → General
- Select Software Update
- If you are on iOS 17, you may see an option for either iOS 17.7.5 or iOS 18.3. Choose iOS 18.3 to get the latest version.
What's New in iOS 18.3
Here are some of the changes in iOS 18.3 worth knowing about:
- Improved AI notification summaries: In earlier versions of iOS, Apple's AI sometimes summarized notifications incorrectly. iOS 18.3 partly addresses this, so the information shown is more accurate. Notifications summarized by AI are also now shown in italics, which makes them easier to tell apart.
- Upgraded Visual Intelligence (iPhone 16 only): On iOS 18.3, Visual Intelligence can automatically add events to the Calendar app from images of tickets, posters, or flyers. Recognition of animals and plants has also improved noticeably. Note: this feature is not supported on older iPhone models.
- Continuous calculation restored in the Calculator app: When you tap "=", the calculation continues from the previous result, which makes repeated operations and compound interest calculations faster.
- Apple Intelligence turns on automatically: On AI-capable iPhones, iOS 18.3 automatically enables Apple Intelligence with no manual steps.
- New Black Unity wallpaper set: Apple adds the Black Unity wallpaper set for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Real-World Experience on iOS 18.3
1. Notification summaries
I noticed a clear improvement in the AI, with the error rate dropping to roughly 1 in 10 cases. There are still a few minor mistakes, and I hope Apple keeps refining this in future updates.
2. Visual Intelligence
I tested it with several types of tickets, with these results:
- Concert tickets: Recognized quickly, with the details entered into the Calendar app automatically.
- Movie posters: The movie title is not filled in automatically and has to be entered by hand.
- Plane tickets: Fully automatic, from the date and time to the flight number.
- Train tickets: The date is recognized, but the route name could not be read.
3. Performance, temperature, and battery life
- Smoothness: I felt that animations are smoother, especially when quickly closing and opening apps.
- Keyboard stutter bug on iOS 18: Fixed, and many other users have confirmed they no longer run into it.
- Battery life: I use an iPhone 16 Pro and found that the battery lasts about 30 minutes longer than on iOS 18.2. Battery drain still depends on how each person uses their phone.
- Temperature: Not much has changed. If you shoot photos continuously, the phone still heats up quickly.
Has Apple Intelligence Improved?
Apple Intelligence on iOS 18.3 feels a bit smoother, especially for summarizing and rewriting text. However, image features such as emoji creation and image generation still lag. According to Apple, iOS 18.4 may add Vietnamese support, and I will wait to re-evaluate once that update arrives.
Overall, iOS 18.3 is a small but worthwhile update, with improvements to performance, AI, and stability. If you are on iOS 18.2, I recommend updating to iOS 18.3 for a better experience. If you are already on iOS 18.3, share your impressions in the comments.
