This can be done using the “Console” utility, which is preinstalled on every Mac. First, connect the iPhone with the beta version to the Mac using a cable. If the iPhone asks if you want to trust this Mac, confirm it. Then proceed as follows:
- Start the “Console” app, which can be found under Applications/Utilities.
- In the “Action” menu, enable “Include debug messages”.
- A search field appears at the top right of the program window; If necessary, enlarge the window until the text entry field is large enough.
- Enter “spotlight indexing progress”.
- Click “Start”.
- Open the Settings app on iPhone.
The console app displays progress as a percentage of PipelineCompleteness.
If iOS is still indexing, a line with the message “PipelineCompleteness” appears at regular intervals, followed by a percentage value. You can use this value to estimate how long the iPhone will spend creating the Spotlight database. If no such message appears in the console, the Spotlight index is already complete. Click “Stop” to stop the iPhone from recording further detailed logs and exit the console.
Deliberately slow
The fact that indexing takes a long time is to a certain extent intentional: Apple has given this task a low priority (quality of service value “background”). Such tasks prefer to run when a device is locked and connected to a power supply. This prevents users from noticing a generally slower response from the new system; The battery life is also not noticeably reduced. If you want the Spotlight index to be available as early as possible, leave your iPhone on the charging cable if possible and only use it sparingly.
Spotlight features for developers
The redesigned search index will not only be used in system searches – app developers can also benefit from the revised database. A WWDC session will explain how app providers prepare their content for the Spotlight database – and how they use an LLM-based search via SpotlightSearchTool.