As Apple announces that Apple Intelligence will arrive in the US in October and the UK in December, MailOnline takes a look at what to expect from the tech giant's AI features.
What is Apple Intelligence?
Tech giant's AI platform for the new iPhone 16 is coming to the US next month - but UK users will have to wait. Not all features of the AI update will be available with iOS 18.1 upon launch.
READ MORE: Apple launches the new iPhone 16 at 'It's Glowtime' event
By Wiliam Hunter
Published: 11:04 BST, 10 September 2024 | Updated: 11:06 BST, 10 September 2024
As Apple launched the new iPhone 16 at its 'Glowtime' event last night, it was the company's latest AI features which took centre stage once again. Now, Apple has finally revealed that its highly anticipated Apple Intelligence will begin to roll out in the US next month.
As part of the iOS 18.1 update, iPhone 16 users will get access to AI features including rewriting tools, summarised notifications, and big improvements to Siri. However, UK tech fans will need to wait a little while longer as the California-based tech giant says that Apple Intelligence won't arrive there until December.
So, with the rollout of Apple's first-ever AI tools just around the corner, MailOnline breaks down what is coming and when you can expect to try it out.
What devices will get Apple Intelligence?
iPhones
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
iPads
- iPad Pro (M1 and later)
- iPad Air (M1 and later)
Macs
- MacBook Air (M1 and later)
- MacBook Pro (M1 and later)
- iMac (M1 and later)
- Mac mini (M1 and later)
- Mac Studio (M1 Max and later)
- Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)
Notes: Apple Intelligence needs an up-to-date AI chip in a device to run - so the A17 Pro (in iPhones) or the M1 or later (in iPads and Macs). They need to be running iOS 18 (iPhones), iPadOS 18 (iPads) or macOS Sequoia (Macs).
What is Apple Intelligence?
Apple Intelligence is essentially a brand name for the company's renewed focus on AI features. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that this marks 'a new chapter in Apple innovation'. What this means for you as a customer is that you can expect to find more AI integrated with your apps and devices from now on.
In a video announcing the new features coming to iPhone 16, Craig Federighi, Apple's vice president of software engineering, said: 'Apple Intelligence is going to transform so much of what you do with iPhone.'
Largely, Apple Intelligence is focused on so-called 'generative' AI models, which allow users to create text or images from prompts. Much of the iPhone 16's hardware has been optimised in order to make the most of these new forms of AI. Complex tasks will still be run on Apple's servers through Private Cloud Compute, but thanks to the new iPhone's A18 Pro chip many AI tasks will be completed directly on the phone.
Dipanjan Chatterjee, VP principal analyst at Forrester, says: 'The stamp of artificial intelligence was all over the new iPhone: Designed “ground up" for Apple Intelligence.'
When will Apple Intelligence launch?
Apple has now announced that Apple Intelligence will launch in October as part of the iOS 18.1 update in 'US English.' But Apple users outside of the US will need to wait longer to try out the latest features. In a statement, Apple says that Apple Intelligence 'will quickly expand to include localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK in December.'
Apple did not respond to a request for comment on why the UK would come so much later than the US. Apple has unveiled that Apple Intelligence, its latest push towards AI features, will begin to roll out in the US in November and in the UK from December.
Apple says that Apple Intelligence will come to the iPhone 16 and selected older models as part of the iOS 18.1 update next month. At a special event last night, Apple unveiled its latest generation iPhone 16 which has been designed to make the most of new AI features. A notable exemption to this rollout is the EU where Apple is locked in a stand-off over regulatory compliance.
Apple is facing pressure from the European Union to allow more third-party app stores as part of the block's enforcement of the Digital Markets Act. Just today, a top European court ruled that the company must pay the European Commission $14.4 billion in taxes on profits earned in Ireland.
While this disagreement rumbles on, Apple says that it would not make Apple Intelligence available in the EU due to 'regulatory uncertainties'. Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, says: 'We note with interest that Apple Intelligence will be available in the UK, which, since Brexit, falls outside the EU.'
'Historically Apple has treated the region with a consistent approach since the UK's departure from the trade bloc so this is a notable change.'
Apple is taking a slower approach to rolling out Apple Intelligence so not everything that has been advertised will be available at launch. When iOS 18.1 releases in October, or December in the UK, iPhone 16 users will only have access to a small selection of what is to come. Features include new writing tools, Photo Memories, the Clean Up tool, automatically transcribed audio, summarised notifications, smart replies, and upgrades to Siri.
'Apple Intelligence' refers to a slew of new AI-powered features coming on Apple's upcoming software update, iOS 18, from AI-generated emoji to a new version of Siri that uses ChatGPT, OpenAI's notorious chatbot. However, not every feature will be available upon launch.
Writing Tools
Some of the most noticeable AI features coming with the initial rollout will be a slew of new generative writing tools. Using AI to make your writing extra concise is not a new thing – for example, Microsoft's Copilot AI is creating first drafts and suggesting edits in Word. But now Apple is offering its own on-device AI writing tools designed to improve the quality and tone of your writing.
The technology will allow you to rewrite, proofread, or summarise text nearly anywhere on your phone including Mail, Notes, Pages, and other third-party apps. Unveiling the new features, Mr Federighi says Apple Intelligence will let users 'rewrite hastily written notes into the polished invite, adjust the tone of that Slack message to your boss to sound a little more professional or proofread your latest review on Goodreads'.
Improved Photos App
Although the iPhone 16 won't feature AI image generation like the Google Pixel 9, it does have some generative editing features in the form of the Clean Up tool. This new feature allows for ultra-clean edits without any of the normal tell-tale signs of some hasty work in Photoshop. Clean Up is very similar to Google's photo-editing technology 'Magic Eraser' for its Pixel phones, heavily promoted in Google adverts in recent years.
By simply tapping or brushing over the object you want to remove, Apple Intelligence will edit it out without altering the rest of the image. Movie Memories picks out the best photos and videos based on a user’s description and arranges it all into a movie with its own narrative arc. This can make it easy to remove 'distracting objects in the background of a photo' such as a photobomber in the background of a family picture.
The rollout will also include new ways to search and manage your photos. Users will be able to search in natural language referring to specific people or places to find specific pictures or even timestamps within your videos. Apple says a new Memories feature enables users to create a 'movie' out of their pictures just by typing in a description such as 'Kristy with her fish, sad vibes'.
Mr Federighi says: 'Apple Intelligence will automatically find relevant photos and videos and smartly arrange them into a storyline.'
Clean Up Tool
The new Clean Up tool in Apple's Photos app can identify and remove 'distracting objects' in the background of a photo using AI.
Automatic Summaries
Generative AIs like ChatGPT are particularly good at taking large amounts of information and boiling down the key details into a few sentences. Apple plans to use this ability at almost all levels of the new AI-powered user experience. Notifications will now appear as automatically generated summaries rather than just showing the first few lines of text.
Apple says that iOS 18.1 will also include a new notification mode called 'Reduce Interruptions' which will only show notifications that the AI considers to require immediate attention. This will be available alongside Priority Messages in the Mail app which 'understands the content of emails and surfaces time-sensitive messages'.
For the first time, users will also be able to record, transcribe, and summarize audio in the Notes and Phone apps. Once the recording is initiated during a phone call other participants are automatically notified and, once the call ends, Apple Intelligence generates a summary of the conversation.
Upgraded Siri
Apple Intelligence will also bring some much-needed upgrades to Siri, Apple's on-device personal assistant, which is being integrated with ChatGPT. Apple says: 'Siri becomes more natural, flexible, and deeply integrated into the system experience.'
Siri will get a new, more subtle look with a new design featuring a glowing light which wraps around the edge of the screen while active. Importantly, Siri will now still be able to understand what you mean if you stumble over your words - that means no more frustrating repetition to get your phrasing just right.
And, for times when you'd rather not speak your requests aloud, Siri will now accept text input. Siri should also become more useful as it gains the ability to maintain context from question to question and give advice on how to use Apple devices.
What is Still to Come?
These are only a handful of the features that Apple has promised will soon be available later this year and in the coming months. Siri will continue to get better, gaining more access to users' personal context, on-screen awareness, and the ability to take actions in hundreds of Apple and third-party apps.
Users will also get even more options for creating and editing images using AI. This includes the Image Wand which can turn rough sketches into full images by drawing on context in the surrounding area. Or iPhone users will be able to make entirely new images in the Image Playground which is capable of producing original content from written prompts.
The coming months will also bring one of Apple's most hotly anticipated features: Genmoji (a mix of 'generated' and 'emoji').
AI-generated Emoji
In the Messages app, users can type a short description (e.g., 'smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers') to get a unique emoji to send to someone. This feature will not be available as part of the initial rollout.
In the Messages app, you can type a short description of the emoji you want – such as 'smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers' or 'squirrel DJ'. Similar to AI tools that just need a few words to create weird artwork, from that single prompt Genmoji returns an AI-generated approximation of what you had in mind. If you don't like what the AI has made for you, there will also be a few backup options for you to choose from.
Visual Intelligence
As part of the iPhone 16 launch, Apple has also teased new features which make use of the flagship smartphone's new camera control. You will now be able to use 'Visual Intelligence' to learn more about the world around you through your iPhone's camera.
Mr Federighi says: 'Suppose you stumble upon a restaurant you haven't been to before, with just a click your iPhone instantly pulls up restaurant hours and quick options to check out the menu or make a reservation.'
Apple says this new feature will also be capable of adding events to your calendar from a picture of a poster or even letting you know the breed of a dog from an image. For even more information, Apple users will also get the option to access OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. Apple says this will let iPhone users make the most of the AI's image and document understanding without having to change apps. However, Apple has yet to give an exact date for when these features will be available.
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Editor,Wiliam Hunter