Apple Intelligence is actually the brand name of Apple’s new AI discovery, launched by the huge success of ChatGPT.
Here are some of the best Apple Intelligence features, coming to the UK via the new iOS 18.2 update.
ChatGPT-Siri integration
Indeed a major part of Apple Intelligence is the integration of OpenAI’s very popular chatbot. ChatGPT and Siri, Apple’s internal assistant.
With ‘language understanding skills’ powered by ChatGPT, Siri will help you navigate through multiple apps and speed up everyday tasks, Apple said.
You’ll be able to press and hold the side button to activate Siri like normal, but with ChatGPT behind it Siri will be able to ‘answer thousands of questions about how to do something’ that it couldn’t do before.
iOS 18 users will be asked before any questions are sent to ChatGPT, along with any text or images, and Siri will provide the answer.
For example, you can say, ‘Play a podcast that Jamie recommended’ and Siri will find and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in text or email.
Or you might ask, ‘When does mom’s plane arrive?’ and Siri will find flight information and navigate to them in detail and track specific flights to provide arrival times.
AI-generated emoji
If you can’t find the emoji you’re looking for in chat, Apple has a solution.
One of the most interesting features of Apple Intelligence is the AI-generated emoji, which Apple called ‘Genmoji’ (a combination of ‘generated’ and ’emoji’).
In the Messages app, you can write a short description of the emoji you want – like ‘smiling comfortably wearing a cucumber’ or ‘squirrel DJ’.
AI-generated emoji: In the Messages app, users can type in a short description (like ‘smiley relaxing wearing cucumber’) to find a unique emoji to send to someone.
Similar to AI tools that only need a few words to create amazing artworkfrom just one moment Genmoji brings back AI-generated simulations of your imagination.
If you don’t like what the AI has suggested for you, there are several storage options to choose from.
Edit
Apple’s Cleanup tool in the Photos app makes the cleanest edits to photos – with no obvious signs that the photo has been tampered with in any way.
It allows users to remove ‘distracting objects’ from the background of a photo – for example a background shooter in the background of a family photo.
Cleansing is very similar to Google’s photo editing technology ‘Magic Eraser’ for its Pixel phones, which has been heavily promoted in Google’s ads in recent years.
The new Clean Up tool in the Apple Photos app can identify and remove ‘distracting objects’ from the background of a photo.
But technology has been described by some as ‘Orwellian’ because it can distort reality and create false memories.
Regarding Cleanup, one commenter said it ‘can be misused’ because it ‘makes it easy to erase evidence’.
Photo Gallery
AI also powers a new image creation tool called ‘Image Playground’, which is available across multiple apps, including Messages and Pages.
With Image Playground, users can create images in seconds, choosing from three modes – ‘animation’, ‘illustration’ and ‘sketch’.
Image Playground allows users to create interesting images in seconds, choosing from three styles – Animation, Illustration and Sketch
A promotional image appears to show a character transformed into a 3D video game avatar wearing a space suit in the “movies”.
In a place like Genmoji, the ‘fun’ emoji creation tool will help iPhone owners ‘communicate and express themselves in new ways’, the company says.
Movies to Remember
The iPhone’s large media storage capacity means it’s always tempting to look back at your photos and videos for inspiration.
Realizing this, Apple has come up with ‘Movie Memories’, an AI tool that creates the perfect home movie to watch on your device.
By typing in a short description – for example ‘last summer in our garden’ – the AI can search your media library and organize photos and videos into a video ‘with its own story’.
Movie Memories selects the best photos and videos based on the user’s description and organizes them all into a video with its own profile.
And since no video is perfect without a little music, you’ll find music suggestions from Apple Music to match the memories.
Again, Apple emphasizes privacy by using AI to explore your private life.
“Like all Apple Intelligence, user photos and videos are kept private on devices and are not shared with Apple or anyone else,” it says.
AI writing tools
Using AI to make your notes shorter is nothing new – for example Microsoft’s Copilot AI is creating original notes and suggesting changes in Word.
But now Apple is jumping on the bandwagon with its AI writing tools.
This technology will also type, read and summarize text in a number of applications, including Mail, Notes and Pages, as well as other third-party applications.
‘Whether you’re editing class notes, making sure a blog post is readable, or ensuring an email is well-crafted, Writing Tools helps users feel confident in their writing,’ the company says.
