Here's Why Your iPhone Is Glowing Around The Edges
Even if you've been using an iPhone for years and know it inside out, it can still surprise you at times. Most of the time, it's because of a feature that you didn't know was there or one Apple added in a recent update. For instance, if you are suddenly seeing your iPhone screen glow around the edges, it's not a glitch. It's part of the new Apple Intelligence features rolled out with the iOS 18 update on your device.
The glow effect only appears on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence and are running iOS 18.1 or later. It's a visual cue that Apple Intelligence has kicked in through Siri. The glow effect can look a bit different depending on how you trigger Siri. If you press and hold the side button on your iPhone, you'll see colored lines radiating from that side to your screen. If you activate Siri using your voice, you'll notice the glow appearing from the bottom of the screen.
Can you disable the glow effect on your iPhone?
Since Apple Intelligence is only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, only those devices show the rainbow glow when you activate Siri. On older iPhones, even those running iOS 18, you'll still see the classic Siri orb at the bottom of the screen. If you're not a fan of the new animation, the only way to get rid of it is by disabling Apple Intelligence on your iPhone.
That means you'll lose all the useful Apple Intelligence features, including writing tools, notification summaries, visual intelligence, or the built-in ChatGPT support in Siri. If you're fine with that, here's how to stop your iPhone screen from glowing around the edges:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down to tap on Apple Intelligence & Siri.
- Turn off the toggle next to Apple Intelligence.
- Select Turn Off Apple Intelligence to confirm.
That's about it. Once you disable Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, the glowing effect should go away. This won't disable Siri on your iPhone, so you can still use it. However, with Apple Intelligence disabled, you won't be able to type to Siri anymore. You'll have to speak to Siri, like the earlier versions.