Apple pauses notification summaries of news alerts in new iOS beta

Apple has put the brakes on its notification summary feature in the latest developer previews for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3. The company has suspended aggregated notifications from news and entertainment apps while it works on improving the system.  

This change comes after some issues arose with the feature, which was originally introduced in iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

Changes and updates to notification summaries

Along with the pause in news notifications, Apple has introduced a new disclosure message. This appears when users first enable the notification summaries and warns that the feature is still in beta. The message notes that it may produce unexpected results, reassuring users that Apple is actively working on improvements. Additionally, the new betas offer a setting that allows users to decide from the lock screen whether they want notifications from a particular app to be summarized.

The system now uses italicized text for AI-generated summaries to help users distinguish them from regular, non-summarized notifications. This update aims to make the alerts clearer and less confusing.

Apple’s commitment to improvement

Apple recently shared with Engadget that it’s working to improve the feature based on user feedback. In a statement to the publication, the company explained that “Apple Intelligence features are in beta and we are continuously making improvements.”

They also mentioned that a future software update would further clarify when the displayed text is a summary provided by Apple Intelligence. Users are encouraged to report any concerns about unexpected notifications.

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The backlash and the road ahead

Notification summaries, which were initially praised as a helpful way to consolidate notifications, quickly became a point of contention after their rollout. The feature, which aims to present key information from multiple sources in a condensed format, was criticised for sometimes spreading misinformation.

A particularly embarrassing case saw the summaries inaccurately report that Luigi Mangione, linked to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself. Such errors sparked backlash, and Apple is now working hard to fix these issues before the feature is fully rolled out.

While Apple is still refining the system, it’s clear the company is committed to ironing out the kinks and ensuring notification summaries live up to user expectations.