Apple just announced a whole bunch of updates at its latest event, not the least important of which are all the improvements to Apple Intelligence, the AI functionality from the maker of the iPhone.
Apple has been a bit slow to the AI game compared to its competitors. Samsung has had Galaxy AI in phones earlier this year, and Google has been developing its Gemini service for years.
Now, the company is finally making a splash with Apple Intelligence, offering a wide range of improvements that could put more AI power in the hands of iPhone users around the world.
Apple Intelligence Features
Tim Cook and the rest of the Apple team rolled out a lot of updates, including new AirPods and a new Apple Watch. Still, the most notable of the announcements, which was naturally saved for the latter part of the event, were all the features that will be available through Apple Intelligence.
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Below, we break down some of the more interesting Apple Intelligence features that you can access on your Apple devices, along with some helpful pictures to illustrate them. Here are some of the things you can do with the new AI from Apple.
Writing Tools
One of the more common features of AI technology in 2024 is the ability to create content, generate summaries, and generally improve the writing experience. With Apple Intelligence, these kinds of features will be built right into all your writing time.
The new feature will allow you to highlight a piece of text and immediately use generative AI on it to edit the content, change the tone, or get a comprehensive summary of the information.
It’s also worth noting that Apple has partnered with ChatGPT to make the iPhone seamlessly integrated with the popular generative AI platform.
The new Writing Tools feature allows you to select text and then edit it with generative AI technology with the click of a button. Source: Apple
Image generation
As we all know, AI tech in 2024 is about more than just writing content. In fact, some of the most popular AI creations have been from the top image generators, which is why Apple Intelligence offers some built-in features for creating masterpieces of your own.
Most notably, you can create your own emojis with nothing more than a simple prompt. Just input the suggestion for the emoji you want, like “frog cowboy,” and the platform will generate a small frog in a cowboy outfit that you can attach to iMessages whenever you want.
You can create your own emojis with a simple prompt with Apple Intelligence. Source: Apple
Improved Siri
Let’s be honest, when it comes to virtual assistants, Siri has not been the most popular. Options like Alexa and Google Assistant have been shown to be more accurate and more effective at answering queries and controlling smart homes, and are generally more equipped to handle AI requests.
With the injection of Apple Intelligence, though, Siri is poised to be more accurate and functional across your devices. You’ll be able to give natural commands on your device and enjoy cross-app functionality, like asking Siri to “send the pictures from the BBQ this weekend to my friend.” With personal context being a big part of the update, you’ll be able to get customized results for your experience, rather than stock responses for everyone.
Apple Intelligence gives Siri some commonsense upgrades too, like the ability to understand when you fumble over a query. So, if you ask, “Can you look up when the museum opens… I mean closes,” it will be able to give you the correct response.
Plus, with visual intelligence, you’ll be able to point your phone at store fronts, parks, and other landmarks to immediately get information. Sure, Google Lens has had this feature for years, but hey, at least Apple is catching up!
Siri is getting a lot of improvements, including personal context that can help the assistant understand what you’re doing and why you’re asking questions. Source: Apple.
Privacy guaranteed
No one wants all their AI-powered devices feeding mountains of data into a potentially unsecured server. After all, these AI services collect an unprecedented amount of information from users, and sometimes people want to opt out of AI collecting all that data.
Apple has attempted to assuage those concerns with some AI privacy measures to go along with Apple Intelligence. For starters, the A18 Bionic chip is equipped with AI functionality, so much of the processing is happening on device, which won’t risk any of your data.
On top of that, Apple Intelligence utilizes Private Cloud Compute to draw from larger servers for bigger requests without storing your data. These servers were specifically built separate from others to keep your information safe, and it comes with a privacy promise that is reportedly verifiable by third parties.
What Devices Will Be Compatible With Apple Intelligence?
With many Apple updates, the changes come to a wide range of devices. But because of the AI element, only so many devices are going to have the technological capabilities to utilize all these AI-powered features. Here are the Apple devices and their accompanying chips that will be compatible with Apple Intelligence:
- iPhone 16 (A18)
- iPhone 16 Plus (A18)
- iPhone 16 Pro Max (A18 Pro)
- iPhone 16 Pro (A18 Pro)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max (A17 Pro)
- iPhone 15 Pro (A17 Pro)
On top of all those iPhones that will offer Apple Intelligence, Apple has also made the functionality available on MacBooks and iPads, but only those that have the M1 chip or a later iteration.
Check out our universal guide to the best iPad.
When Is Apple Intelligence Available?
After learning all this information, it’s safe to assume you’re wondering when you’re finally going to get your hands on this AI functionality on your Apple device. You still have some time to wait, but the improvements are around the corner.
According to the company, Apple Intelligence will be available in beta this fall when iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia are released this fall.
