Apple Intelligence and everything you need to know about it
Artificial intelligence is the buzzword in tech right now, and Apple is diving in headfirst. At its last WWDC 2024, the Cupertino tech giant announced the new iOS 18 and some fresh AI updates across all its major software, dubbing it Apple Intelligence.
Several public beta builds have been rolled out to users who signed up to receive them on their iDevices. And on October 28, Apple finally rolled out Apple Intelligence as part of the iOS 18.1 update.
Apple Intelligence release date
At Apple latest "It's Glowtime" event, the tech giant shared that it will roll out Apple Intelligence through several software updates, with the first one landing after the iPhone 16 series launch and the stable release of iOS 18.1. iPhone 16 already debuted on September 9 at Apple's "It's Glowtime" event and iOS 18.1 rolled out just recently.
However, while many of the AI-powered features are already available, more are expected to continue to roll out in the coming months and into the first half of 2025 with future iOS updates.
For example, in 2025, we should see Siri's integration with ChatGPT and new visual intelligence features become publicly available as part of the upcoming iOS 18.4 release, which is currently in the works.
Which devices will be receiving the latest AI features?
For now, Apple Intelligence is available on a handful of devices. | Image credit – Apple
On mobile devices, Apple Intelligence is available only on the iPhone 15 Pro models and newer, as well as iPad Pro and Air models with the M1 chip and later. So, you will be able to use it if you have one of these:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPad Air M1 (2022)
- iPad Pro M1 (2021)
- iPad Pro M2 (2022)
- iPad Air M2 (2024)
- iPad Pro M4 (2024)
Otherwise, iOS 18 works on all iPhones that currently support iOS 17, including the latest iPhone 15 series, iPhone 14 series, iPhone 13 series and iPhone 12 series.
So, where did Apple sprinkle its AI magic?
Image credit – Apple
Well, pretty much everywhere in its software. But the AI additions in iOS 18 make this the biggest software refresh we have seen in years. And while Apple is spreading AI across its operating systems, Siri is the main highlight.
Siri
Apple has reworked Siri using large language models to make it smarter and more responsive to user queries. The new Siri can now take actions within Apple’s own apps, making the assistant way more capable than it used to be.
The new Siri feels more casual and conversational, with a more natural-sounding voice. It can do more than before, taking into account events, locations, dates, people, and companies. In an essence, Siri will use your information to serve you better results. For example, you can tell Siri to find your driving license and the digital assistant will pull it out from Photos.
Siri is indeed stepping up its game with some handy new tricks. Imagine being able to tell Siri to open a document, move a file, delete an email, edit a photo, or give you a quick summary of your messages, notifications, and articles. That is the kind of convenience Apple is bringing with the updated digital assistant.
Apps and services
Apple is adding a touch of AI to many of its own apps. Here’s a rundown of the new AI features the company unveiled at the event:
- Safari: Safari is getting smarter with an Intelligent Search feature that uses AI to highlight key topics and phrases on web pages, providing a neat summary. And there is a handy new tool called Web Eraser for hiding pesky parts of web pages that keep popping up.
- Messages: in the Messages app, get ready for a slew of handy AI features. You will get better-suggested replies powered by AI for swiftly responding to incoming texts. Plus, Siri is stepping up its game by summarizing lengthy messages, making it easier to catch up on conversations. There is also a new emoji feature coming out. Users can make emojis based on their messages. These emojis will be made by AI, and they will be completely original, not from the usual emoji collection.
- Mail: the Mail app is improved with a new Smart Replies feature that offers suggestions for quick responses to incoming emails. Alongside that, there are enhancements to the search function and an option to summarize lengthy email threads. Not stopping there, Mail is also getting a makeover with automatic categorization of incoming messages. And you can also use the new Rewrite feature to get different drafts of your text by changing the tone and style of your email.
- Photos: in the Photos app, there is a new AI-powered feature that lets users remove unwanted objects from their images. Plus, searching photos and videos gets easier as thanks to AI, the app understands more complex queries. You can also create a memory by typing a description and letting Apple Intelligence do the work of turning your photos into a movie.
With Memories, Apple's AI sorts through your photos and videos, picks the best ones based on your description, and creates a movie with its own storyline. | Image credit – Apple
- Notes: with the latest AI updates, Notes lets you record voice memos directly within the app, complete with a transcript feature. Mathematical notations have been enhanced to accommodate a wider range of equations, and the app also offers AI-generated summaries of key points in both notes and audio recordings.
- Voice Memos: similar to the Notes app, the Voice Memos app now offers transcripts and summaries for recorded content.
- Notifications: AI will get summaries of the most important and relevant information.
- New Image Playground app: You can create as many images as you want with the help of AI. You can choose from three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. The feature is also integrated into Messages and more in-house apps. All images are created on device.
- Writing Tools: with the introduction of new systemwide Writing Tools in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 users can rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across various writing platforms, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.
Simple to use and integrated directly into apps like Messages, Image Playground lets users create fun images seconds. | Image credit – Apple
Privacy and security
In iOS 18, some of the new AI features will work right on your device, so they won’t rely on cloud servers for processing, which means your data stays on your iPhone. However, other features will work on servers but Apple says you are in control of your data and can choose where to store it.
Moreover, the new AI features are all be opt-in, so if don’t want to use AI, you have the option not to.
What makes all of this possible?
Apple has struck a deal with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT into iOS 18. Instead of developing its own chatbot, Apple has opted for this integration for now. Users will have the option to enable ChatGPT or not. Also, if you want to use it, it will be free and you won't need to make an account.
For users opting for ChatGPT, privacy will be a priority: IP addresses will remain hidden, and OpenAI won’t keep any records of user requests. However, if users link their accounts, the data-use policies of ChatGPT will apply.
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