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Apple's iPhone 16 is launching without Apple Intelligence, but there's still a pretty simple way for iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Pro owners to try it out — all you have to do is install the latest public iOS beta.

That's right, Apple's iOS 18.1 beta is here, and it brings — for the first time in a non-developer beta — a number of Apple Intelligence features.

SEE ALSO: Is Apple Intelligence only on iPhone 16? We have the answers

So how do you get the AI goods? First, it's important to know that Apple Intelligence still isn't available to all users. Merely updating to the latest version of iOS, even if you're one of the lucky few who already received their iPhone 16, will not get you any of the new AI features.

Don't forget to back up your device. Credit: Apple

Instead, you have to sign up for Apple's Beta Software Program, over at beta.apple.com. Then, you'll have to enroll your iOS device into the beta program by going to Settings - General - Software Update - Beta Updates. From there, you'll be able to choose the latest beta, which is iOS 18.1. Don't forget to back up your device before you install the beta software, which is by definition less stable and tested than public releases.

If you want to take it a step further and try the latest developer beta, check out Mashable's piece with the instructions on how to get that, but beware — developer betas aren't meant for wide public consumption and will almost certainly be buggy.

I'm running the developer beta, but you don't need it; iOS 18.1 public beta is very similar to the latest developer beta. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

If you want to try Apple Intelligence on your Mac or iPad, the iPadOS 18.1 beta and macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta are available as well; the onboarding process is the same as above.

There's a caveat to all this. If you're in Europe or China, Apple Intelligence features will not be available to you, no matter which iOS version you have installed. That's because of AI regulations, which are different in the European Union and China than they are in the U.S. I wrote a short primer on how you can try to overcome this limitation, but the short version is that it is not worth the trouble. And if you want to know more about EU laws that caused this gap, you can read about that on Mashable too

As far as what kind of AI features can you expect in this beta, the list isn't complete (some features are coming later this year) but it does include several key features seen in Apple's "It's Glowtime" event held earlier this month. For example, you'll get the glowy, around-the-display Siri effect when you invoke her, and Siri will be a little smarter when it comes to understanding your mumbly requests.

You'll also get AI-powered spell and grammar checks when writing, as well as AI summaries of your text. Photos will be able to create slide shows based on your text input, Clean Up can be used to remove unwanted objects in photos, and Messages and Mail are getting smart replies.

Never Let Go creeps onscreen like a dark fairy tale, enveloping its audience in a forest landscape of gnarled tree branches and mossy stones. At the center of this grove lies a solitary wooden house, home to a woman known simply as Momma (Halle Berry), as well as her twin sons Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins). According to Momma, they're the only three people left in the world. A great Evil wiped out the rest of humanity, and now it's coming for her family.

There are ways to fight the Evil, though. Like Never Let Go's wooded setting, these defense mechanisms come straight out of folklore. Momma, Nolan, and Samuel tether themselves to their house with a rope anytime they step outside. That bind grants them protection against the Evil. The same goes for the house as a whole, which the family treats as some kind of holy guardian. They touch its wooden walls to cleanse their souls of any contact with the Evil, reciting a well-worn rhyme that declares, "Heaven is here within our home."

SEE ALSO: 42 movies you'll want to see this fall

All these elements form an intriguing blend of folk horror with religious undertones. Yet Never Let Go, directed by Alexandra Aja (Crawl, Horns), fails to deliver on its promising start. The film sometimes plumbs the depths of sinking dread, but for the most part, relies on cheap tactics to elicit any kind of scare.

What's Never Let Go about? Anthony B. Jenkins, Halle Berry, and Percy Daggs IV in "Never Let Go." Credit: Liane Hentscher for Lionsgate

For Samuel and Nolan, the house is all they've ever known. The same goes for Momma's insistence that they stay attached to the all-important rope and follow each of her rituals. Momma knows best after all, as only she can see the Evil. It manifests in different forms for her, shedding its skin like a snake to take the shape of her deceased family members. Often in zombie-like states of decay, these apparitions shamble towards Momma and taunt her with painful memories.

All that definitely sounds scary, but since Samuel and Nolan have never seen or experienced the Evil themselves, even in the brief moments when they let go of the rope, it's only natural that doubt eventually creeps in. Samuel, ever the rule follower, remains steadfast in his trust in Momma. But Nolan grows bolder in questioning whether the Evil is even real. As starvation closes in and tensions rise, the stage is set for a family reckoning and all the beliefs they once held dear.

Never Let Go raises fascinating questions, but never goes deep (or truly horrifying) enough

Unfortunately, that reckoning never quite arrives. That's a shame, as Never Let Go does wring some dread from its ambiguous approach to whether the Evil is actually real or not. Take Momma's story of the time she left a young, injured hiker to die for fear that she was one of the Evil's many forms. Are we certain that she outsmarted some malevolent force? Or did she actually abandon a real girl who needed her help? The different possibilities can tear you in two, and Never Let Go remixes that scenario a few times throughout its run for maximum dread.

Too often, though, Never Let Go turns away from this complexity in favor of clichéd frights. Jump scares and nightmare sequences abound, prompting quick moments of fear that quickly give way to exasperation. I don't need to see another mysterious creature dart across the frame! Give me unbridled panic about losing that vital, protective rope or the horrifying inevitability of starvation any day.

Some genuinely fascinating ideas do shine through Never Let Go, even with these half-baked scares clogging the runtime. Real or not, there are different ways to read the Evil's significance to Momma, especially through the lens of family trauma. There's also the angle of children breaking away from their parents: Is Nolan's skepticism a coming-of-age moment for him? Momma mentions she had a similar phase once, so is her family trapped in a cycle of rebelling against then conforming to rituals surrounding the Evil? Never Let Go certainly seems happy to let us keep asking these questions, but after its plodding pacing and scattershot climax, you'll wish it had held onto those ideas for just a bit longer.

Never Let Go was reviewed out of Fantastic Fest's opening night. It is now in theaters.

Netflix dropped a behind-the-scenes look at "Wednesday" Season 2 with Jenna Ortega on set.

Netflix has dropped its teaser for "Devil May Cry", a demon-hunting anime based on Hideki Kamiya's famous game franchise of the same name.

A land succession drama on an Australian cattle ranch where everyone's out for blood? That's the pitch for Netflix's new drama series "Territory."

Netflix's trailer for animated series "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft" is here, and our hero (voice by Hayley Atwell) has demons to conquer.

Netflix has dropped its trailer for "The Eternaut", a post-apocalyptic thriller series about a toxic snowfall and an alien threat.

Netflix dropped a new clip from "Arcane" Season 2 showing Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) in a fighting ring. Watch.

Netflix has dropped its trailer for "DON'T MOVE", a survival thriller produced by "The Evil Dead" director Sam Raimi.

Netflix dropped a short clip to announce the arrival of Toph in "Avatar: The Last Airbender," along with the casting of Miya Cech.

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against "Pokémon with guns" game Palworld this week, officially kicking off a fight that's been looming since January. Now Palworld developer Pocketpair has responded, claiming it has no idea why it's being sued. This actually isn't as absurd as it sounds.

In a statement released on Thursday, Pocketpair confirmed it had received notice of a patent infringement lawsuit and was investigating its claims, though refrained from specifically naming either Nintendo or The Pokémon Company.

Interestingly, Pocketpair also said it doesn't yet know the details of exactly what it's accused of.

SEE ALSO: 'Pokémon with guns' game 'Palworld' hit with inevitable Nintendo lawsuit

"We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement," Pocketpair wrote in its statement. "At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details."

Tweet may have been deleted Why is Nintendo suing Palworld? Credit: Pocketpair

Though Pocketpair's claims of ignorance may initially seem ridiculous, they're less surprising once you consider the nature of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's claims.

Palworld drew international attention during its January early access launch due to perceived similarities between its titular Pals and Pokémon designs. Some 3D modellers even directly compared character models, speculating that Pocketpair had stolen assets —  a theory the developer has consistently denied.

However, patents don't cover such elements, which would more appropriately be handled by a copyright. Instead, a patent infringement lawsuit is more likely to deal with technical elements such as gameplay mechanics.

Palworld's gameplay does have undeniable gameplay similarities to the Pokémon franchise, with both allowing players to capture and battle teams of fantastical monsters. Even so, they're far from the only monster-taming games out there, with games such as Dragon Quest V and Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series preceding both.

As such, the exact nature of Nintendo's beef with Pocketpal isn't immediately apparent.  

It seems reasonable to speculate that the lawsuit may involve Palworld's "Pal Spheres." To capture a Pal in Palworld, players first fight their target to lower its health and increase the probability of a successful capture. They then throw a Pal Sphere at the Pal, trapping them inside it. 

As anyone familiar with Pokémon games will know, this mechanic operates very similarly to Pokéballs.

The theory that the lawsuit concerns Pal Spheres is further supported by several divisional patent applications Nintendo and The Pokémon Company jointly submitted after Palworld's launch. Some of the patents seem to concern mechanics such as aiming and throwing an item to capture a creature, as well as throwing an item to release a captured creature and start a battle.

Divisional patents essentially split a pre-existing patent into multiple separate ones, separating distinct inventions that were previously bundled together. Such split patents are still considered to have been in effect from the date of their parent patent, meaning they could feasibly form the basis of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's lawsuit against Pocketpair.

As noted by Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara in Yahoo Japan (via Automaton West), Nintendo and The Pokémon Company requested that processing for these divisional patent applications be fast-tracked.

Of course, all of this is mere speculation at present, with the exact details of the lawsuit yet to be confirmed. When previously reached for comment, The Pokémon Company told Mashable that it "refrain[s] from commenting on the matters related to the content of the lawsuit."

Mashable has also reached out to Nintendo and Pocketpair for comment.

"It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit," Pocketpair said in its public statement. "However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas."

Your collection of bar cart staples probably includes the usual suspects: a mixologist-approved stainless steel shaker, cute or quirky umbrellas, and exotic syrups.

Get ready to add an unexpected item to that list: 7UP. That's right, the lemon-lime-flavoured soft drink from your childhood wants you to make space on your drink trolley for its fizzy goodness. In a move aimed at capturing the hearts — and taste buds — of Gen-Zers and Millennials, 7UP has launched a global campaign under the banner "Level Up With 7UP". The main idea is that 7UP can be a key ingredient for elevating any social gathering, from low-key beach days to happening house parties.

Here's what you need to know — and how you can join in the fun.

7UP tapping into timely trends

Millennials and Gen-Zers are comfortable experimenting with unique food and drink combinations. After all, these are the generations responsible for such iconic (if not bizarre) creations as butter boards, egg flights, and croissant-doughnut hybrids. These cohorts are also suckers for a throwback. So, it’s not a stretch to think that they’ll embrace a classic choice like 7UP as a modern addition to their mixology toolkit.

The campaign also taps into other social trends, like mixology at home and craft mocktail culture, as well as the fact that younger consumers are increasingly open to experimenting with unique beverage options, from matcha mojito mocktails to muddled pineapple and lime cordials. (The absolute explosion of seltzer options in your supermarket’s drink aisle is proof of this movement.)

Notably, the campaign also spotlights 7UP's Zero Sugar variant, which offers the same citrus-forward flavour without the sugar. This inclusion is a nod to the growing demand for diverse beverage options, particularly among younger consumers seeking great, refreshing drinks with less sugar.

The strategy behind the ‘z campaign

To drive home their message, 7UP is rolling out a dynamic mix of content, starting with a short film that depicts friends getting together and playfully experimenting with 7UP in their drink recipes. The video illustrates how this familiar soda can be transformed into a creative mixer that adds flair to any gathering. (And it just might provide you with inspiration for your next flat party or happy hour theme.)

In addition to the film, 7UP has also introduced a series of influencer collaborations that demonstrate inventive ways to add 7UP’s signature citrusy punch to any bespoke beverage of choice. For instance, the soda can be used in unique versions of both classic and novel drinks—from tropical punches to fruity infusions to lemon-lime spritzes. 

The hashtag challenge: #LEVELUPWITH7UP

Got an idea for up-levelling your favourite drink? You can join the party online. The #LEVELUPWITH7UP hashtag invites users on platforms like TikTok and Instagram to share their own drink recipes using 7UP. Show off your creation with everything from quick tutorials to more in-depth explorations of the endless possibilities.

In the coming weeks, 7UP is taking their new campaign global, hitting markets like Egypt, Vietnam, Portugal, India, and Thailand. Expect a slew of locally produced influencer content with regional twists, tons of giveaways, drink sampling events, and even some VIP beach parties. Want in on the action? Keep an eye on the brand’s social feeds for all the juicy details.

Whether you're coming up with a new mocktail or enhancing your refreshing spritz recipe, 7UP promises to bring a novel twist to your next gathering — and an unexpected addition to your perfectly curated bar cart.