today’s apple announced the release of Apple Intelligence, a new personal intelligence system that brings a host of new features to iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The system is designed to leverage Apple Silicon to understand and create language and images to streamline tasks and improve the user experience while prioritizing privacy. These features are now available after updating to . iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1. New features that will be available include:
writing utensils
One of the distinguishing features of Apple Intelligence is the writing tools that are deeply integrated throughout Apple’s operating system. These tools allow users to refine their writing by rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text in a variety of apps, including Email, Messages, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps. Rewrite allows users to choose from different versions of text and adjust the tone to suit their needs. Proofreading provides suggestions for grammar and word choice, and summarization condenses text into an easy-to-understand format.
Apple Intelligence writing tools. |Image credit — Apple
New Siri
Siri has undergone a major transformation with Apple Intelligence. It features more natural and conversational voices, a new design, and enhanced language understanding. Users can type into Siri on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac and seamlessly switch between text and voice. Siri’s knowledge base has also been expanded to answer a broader range of questions about Apple products and features.
Apple Intelligence inputs into Siri. |Image credit — Apple
Photo app: intelligent search and editing
The Photos app is now even more intelligent with the addition of natural language search, allowing users to find photos and videos simply by describing what they’re looking for. Additionally, the memory feature lets users create movies by entering a description, and Apple Intelligence selects and assembles the best photos and videos based on the user’s input.
Apple Intelligence Photo Search and Memory Movies. |Image credit — Apple
Apple has also introduced a “Cleanup” tool within the Photos app. This AI-powered feature allows users to remove unwanted objects and distractions from images while maintaining the overall quality and composition of the photo. This is especially useful for removing photo bombers, background flotsam, and portrait blemishes, giving users more control over the final look of their photos.
Apple Intelligence Photos cleanup tool. |Video credit — Apple
Prioritize and focus: streamline daily tasks
Apple Intelligence introduces features designed to help you prioritize and stay focused. In Email, Priority Messages highlights urgent emails, and Message Summary shows important details without the user having to open the message. Smart Reply provides quick answer suggestions and identifies questions in emails to ensure they are answered. Notification Summary allows users to scan long or stacked notifications with important details on the lock screen.
Apple Intelligence Priority Messages and Summarization features. |Image credit — Apple
Enhanced audio features
Notes and Phone apps now allow users to record, transcribe, and summarize audio. When the Phone app starts recording during a call, participants are automatically notified, and Apple Intelligence generates a call summary after the call ends.
Audio summarization feature in the Apple Intelligence Phone app. |Image credit — Apple
Future developments
Apple also said in the announcement that additional Apple Intelligence features will be available in December, with more to be rolled out in the coming months. These include new visual intelligence features, enhanced writing tools, and integration with ChatGPT, providing access to extensive world knowledge and image and document understanding capabilities.
Apple Intelligence Image Playground and personal context. |Image credit — Apple
Privacy at the core
Of course, we can’t talk about Apple’s features without talking about privacy. Apple emphasizes that Apple Intelligence is designed with privacy in mind. Many models of running private cloud computing run entirely on the device, and for requests that require more processing power, private cloud computing does not store user data or share it with Apple. Extend your privacy and security to the cloud without the hassle. To experience the power of Apple Intelligence, users: Compatible devices must be updated to the latest version (iOS18.1, iPadOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1). This feature is currently available in most regions where the device and Siri language is set to US English, and expanded language support will be rolled out in the coming months. Apple Intelligence is compatible with a variety of devices, including: iPhone16 series (iPhone16, iPhone16 plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max), iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, A17 Pro or iPad with M1 chip or later, Mac with M1 or later.
