Apple’s first set of AI features won’t set the world on fire, but it’s a start

On October 29, 2024By Littum

Apple ( AAPL ) is finally releasing its first set of Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s a huge moment for the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization, and a number of Wall Street analysts are banking on the platform to help accelerate iPhone sales again.

It is also a big effort for Apple. The company is pushing the software to some of its most important products. If it doesn’t hit the mark out of the gate, it could detract from users’ perception that Apple Intelligence is moving forward.

The initial version of Apple Intelligence – available through iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS 15 – includes notifications and email summaries, priority email alerts in Mail, text writing tools, natural language search and image editing in Photos, and an improved version of Siri .

Probably the most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to Apple Intelligence is that it won’t be available to all iPhone users. The software only runs on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16. So if you have an older iPhone, you’re out of luck. That’s why analysts believe the platform will trigger a flurry of iPhone upgrades. If most of Apple’s user base cannot use Apple Intelligence, the thinking is that they will buy newer models to access it.

And it’s helped drive Apple’s stock up 38% over the past six months. Which makes the platform’s success a must for Apple.

I’ve already been using a beta version of the first set of Apple Intelligence features for a few weeks, and while I don’t think these are the type of upgrades that will have consumers rushing out the door to buy the latest iPhone, they help set the stage for the company’s next set of AI updates. It includes ChatGPT integration, the debut of Apple’s Visual Intelligence, and more.

But it will be some time before these options are available to the general public, as developers are just getting their hands on them via Apple’s latest developer beta. In the meantime, here’s what to expect when you download the latest version of iOS and finally start using Apple Intelligence.

The most useful tool in the early Apple Intelligence series, Notification Overview makes the endless stream of texts, Slacks, and news updates just a little bit easier to manage. Summaries uses AI to condense your messages into small pieces of information that give you the most important part of your messages you need to know, and it’s turned out to be my favorite part of Apple Intelligence.

SMS summaries extract the most relevant information from your texts. Usually these include summaries of texts that are relatively long or complicated, so don’t expect each back and forth to get its own summary.

Apple Intelligence's notification overviews make it easier to manage the many updates and messages you receive throughout the day. (Image: Howley) — Apple Intelligence’s notification overviews make it easier to manage the many updates and messages you receive throughout the day. (Image: Howley) · Howley

The Mail app also gets summaries of emails, which can help when you’re scrolling through hundreds of messages after returning to the office from a day off. Apple Intelligence’s Priority Emails, another Mail feature, automatically pulls what it thinks are your most urgent messages and places them in a Priority Messages box at the top of the screen. These tend to be emails that contain some kind of timely information or requests, but Priority Messages doesn’t pick up important emails from sources I’m waiting on, which tends to be my real priority.

Apple Intelligence’s writing tool features are available across the operating system, including third-party apps, and can make your writing sound more friendly, professional, and concise, turning it into a list, summarizing it, extracting key points, or turning it into a table.

Apple Intelligence's writing tools can help you rephrase, summarize, and proofread everything from emails to text messages. (Image: Howley) — Apple Intelligence’s writing tools can help you rephrase, summarize, and proofread everything from emails to text messages. (Image: Howley) · Howley

Overall, Writing Tools does a good job with all of these tasks, but because it’s powered by generative AI, there are bound to be cases where Apple Intelligence doesn’t quite give you what you were hoping for. I haven’t run into any issues with it yet, but with millions of people using the feature, I’m sure we’ll see something pop up here and there.

Apple has also added Apple Intelligence features to the Photos app. The one that will get the most attention initially will probably be Clean Up. An AI-assisted editing tool, Clean Up lets you remove unwanted people or objects from your photos. However, don’t expect to be able to cut your ex out of your vacation photos. Clean Up is meant to help you remove smaller objects, like a person walking across the background of your group photo.

Natural language search in Photos is exactly what you think it is: the ability to search for photos and videos using phrases and sentences instead of just dates and locations. I wrote pictures of “John and Daniel drinking” and quickly got pictures of my friend John and I throwing back a few grown-up drinks.

Apple's natural language search for Photos makes it easier to find your favorite photos without having to scroll through your entire photo and video collection. (Image: Howley) — Apple’s natural language search for Photos makes it easier to find your favorite photos without having to scroll through your entire photo and video collection. (Image: Howley) · Howley

As Apple improves the search function over time, I imagine this will finally end those times when you want to show someone a picture of your vacation years ago, but instead end up scrolling through your phone for an uncomfortable amount of time before you just give up completely. .

Siri also gets an upgrade in the first iteration of Apple Intelligence, although it’s not the smarter version of Siri with ChatGPT. This version allows you to use Siri without it filling your entire screen with responses and uses a smart new interface that makes the edges of your screen light up.

Siri will also recognize when you fumble your words and need to restart a sentence without getting confused and can answer product knowledge questions about your Apple device, such as “How do I scan documents with my phone?” That in itself will be useful for users who aren’t as familiar with some of the iPhone’s more niche features.

You’re also finally able to type questions to Siri by double-tapping the bottom of the screen. It’s a nice addition since sometimes you either don’t want to or can’t say your questions to Siri out loud.

I appreciate the new features, especially typing to Siri, but it’s just not as smart as I’d hoped yet. Hopefully that will happen when Apple brings ChatGPT to the software.

One of the concerns surrounding the use of generative AI is how user data is processed. On-device processing ensures that your data never leaves your device and that any requests or commands you give AI apps are processed using your phone’s own processor. Cloud processing means that your data is uploaded to the cloud and processed on a company’s servers before being sent back to your device.

Apple says Apple Intelligence uses a mix of on-device and cloud processing depending on the complexity of your requests. But Apple has also staked its reputation on user privacy and security. To counter that, the company has set up what it calls Private Cloud Compute servers.

Apple says that data sent to its Private Cloud Compute servers is never stored or shared with the company and is not used to train any models, just to answer requests. Apple also promises to allow independent experts to check its servers’ code to ensure the company isn’t using its users’ data for anything beyond its stated needs.

Overall, Apple’s first line of Apple Intelligence features is a solid starting point for the company’s AI ambitions. And while photo editing and text tools are useful, notification summaries will definitely stand out. Now it’s up to Apple to keep delivering.

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Email Daniel Howley at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

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