Apple Intelligence will be available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac beginning next month.
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A variety of Apple Intelligence features, including useful writing tools, summaries for mail and notifications, a more intuitive and adaptable Siri, and the Clean Up tool in Photos, are being introduced in the U.S., with further support for English-language users expected later this year.
Today, Apple revealed that Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that integrates generative models with individual context to provide highly relevant and useful insights, will begin its rollout next month alongside iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1. Additional features are expected to be introduced in the following months. Furthermore, Apple unveiled the new iPhone 16 series, designed specifically for Apple Intelligence and powered by the advanced A18 and A18 Pro chips, making these the most sophisticated iPhone models to date. Apple Intelligence will initially be available in U.S. English, with plans to expand to localized English versions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. by December, and further language support—including Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish—set to arrive next year.
Apple Intelligence, the latest suite of AI features introduced in iOS 18, is setting the stage for a transformative approach to app usage. Currently, the traditional App Store model faces ongoing scrutiny from regulators. At the same time, users are able to perform numerous tasks by posing straightforward inquiries to AI assistants such as ChatGPT. Advocates argue that AI has the potential to become the primary method for seeking information, enhancing workplace productivity, and fostering creative exploration. What implications does this have for the app ecosystem and the increasing service revenue, which exceeded $6 billion last quarter, that Apple derives from it?
Getting Started with Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence is seamlessly embedded within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, leveraging the capabilities of Apple silicon to comprehend and generate language and images, facilitate actions across applications, and utilize personal context to streamline and enhance daily activities—all while ensuring user privacy and security. A significant number of the models that drive Apple Intelligence operate entirely on the device, while Private Cloud Compute provides the flexibility to adjust and expand computational resources between on-device processing and larger, server-based models hosted on dedicated Apple silicon servers. The initial suite of Apple Intelligence features is set to launch next month, offering experiences that are engaging, intuitive, user-friendly, and specifically crafted to assist users in accomplishing their most important tasks. With Writing Tools, users can enhance their writing by rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text in nearly any application they use, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and various third-party apps.
The response gets to the heart of Apple’s approach to artificial intelligence.
Apple Intelligence provides a limited range of functionalities right out of the box, including writing assistance, summarization tools, generative art, and other fundamental features. However, during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held in June of this year, Apple unveiled new capabilities that will enable developers’ applications to integrate more seamlessly with both Siri and Apple Intelligence. Enhancements to the smart assistant will empower Siri to access any item from an app’s menu without requiring additional effort from developers. For example, users could request Siri to “show me my presenter notes” within a presentation, and Siri would respond appropriately. Additionally, Siri will gain the ability to read any text displayed on the screen, enabling users to reference and interact with the content they see. Therefore, if you were viewing your reminder to send birthday wishes to a family member, you might say something like “FaceTime him,” and Siri would understand the action to perform.
his represents a significant enhancement over the basic features currently offered by Siri, and the improvements do not stop there. Apple is also equipping developers with the necessary tools to integrate Apple Intelligence into their applications. During WWDC, the company announced that Apple Intelligence would initially be accessible to specific categories of applications, such as Books, Browsers, Cameras, Document readers, File management, Journals, Mail, Photos, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Whiteboards, and Word processors.
In the future, it is anticipated that Apple will extend these capabilities to all developers within the App Store. The AI features will be built upon the App Intents framework, which is being enhanced with new intents for developers. The ultimate aim is to enable users to engage with Siri not only to launch their applications but also to utilize them effectively. This means that users will no longer need to navigate through an app’s menus to locate the features required for specific tasks; they can simply ask Siri directly.
Users will have the ability to make requests in a natural, conversational manner, incorporating elements from their personal experiences. For example, you might instruct a photo-editing application like Darkroom to “apply a cinematic filter to the picture I took of Ian yesterday.” While the current version of Siri might struggle with such a request, the AI-enhanced Siri would understand how to utilize the app’s Apply Filter function and identify the specific photo in question. According to Apple, Siri will be capable of executing commands even if the user fumbles their words or refers back to a previous part of the dialogue in their requests. Additionally, users can perform actions across different applications. For instance, after editing a photo, you could direct Siri to transfer it to another app, such as Notes, without needing to interact with the screen.
Apple Intelligence : The search functionality of the iPhone.
Furthermore, the iPhone’s Spotlight search functionality will enhance its capability to retrieve data from applications by integrating app entities into its indexing system. This encompasses Apple’s understanding of various elements such as photos, messages, files, calendar events, and more. This nuanced application of AI necessitates the support of developers. Over the years, Apple has distanced itself from some major developers, as well as independent ones, due to its revenue-sharing policies, which typically allow the company to retain 30% of the revenue generated from products and services sold through any app. However, developers may be incentivized to return as Siri transforms apps that were once relegated to the App Library into easily accessible options through voice commands.
Rather than relying on tedious onboarding processes to instruct users on navigating their applications, developers could prioritize ensuring that Siri comprehends the functionality of their apps and the ways users might request specific actions. This would enable users to interact with the app through Siri, either by voice or text commands, akin to their current interactions with AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
Additionally, third-party developers will experience further advantages from Apple’s new AI framework.
Through its collaboration with OpenAI, Siri will now be able to transfer inquiries to ChatGPT when it lacks the necessary information. Additionally, the new visual search feature in the iPhone 16 series will enable users to access OpenAI’s chatbot or Google Search simply by tapping the Camera Control button on the side, transforming what they see in the camera viewfinder into a usable query. These advancements may not seem as groundbreaking as the launch of ChatGPT, as the pace of developer integration is expected to differ. Furthermore, the realization of these future capabilities appears to be some time away. In the most recent iOS 18 beta versions, the features seem to be in a nascent stage. While I was frequently impressed by the new capabilities of Siri, I was equally perplexed by its limitations. This includes functionality within Apple’s own applications. For example, while you can instruct Siri in the Photos app to send a photo you are currently viewing, you cannot request more intricate tasks, such as converting the photo into a sticker. Until Siri overcomes these limitations, the overall experience may prove to be frustrating.
