Apple's venture into artificial intelligence, known as Apple Intelligence, has been eagerly awaited since its initial announcement earlier this year. With the official launch of iOS 18.1, iPhone users can now experience Apple's AI features firsthand, albeit with a modest set of tools to begin with. Available exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, and their Plus and Max variants, Apple Intelligence is still in its beta phase and requires users to opt-in for access. Although the available features are limited, they introduce useful new functionalities to the device, offering a glimpse into how Apple plans to integrate AI into our daily lives. Here’s a look at the three most practical features you’ll want to use right away on your iPhones.
Summaries of Notifications, Emails, and Web Pages: For those overwhelmed by digital communication, Apple Intelligence’s Summaries feature provides a welcome relief. This tool offers a quick, concise overview of the content in your Messages notifications, emails, and even Safari web pages.
Notifications: When a new message arrives in Messages or from a supported app, your iPhone will generate a single-sentence summary that captures the essence of the message. While it may occasionally miss subtleties—like sarcasm or regional slang—the summaries generally provide a helpful snapshot that’s easy to skim.
Emails: In the Mail app, the Summarise button at the top of an email provides a brief summary of its contents, allowing you to quickly assess the urgency or relevance of the message without delving into paragraphs.
Web Pages: If you’re browsing a page in Safari that supports the Reader feature, you can tap the Page Menu, then Show Reader, and select Summary. Apple Intelligence will produce a short summary of the article, so you can decide if it’s worth your time without reading the entire piece.
Siri’s New Look and Enhanced Interaction: Siri has never looked better. In iOS 18.1 for devices that support Apple Intelligence, it features a new full-screen animation with color at the edges. This aesthetic change gives Siri a modern, dynamic look and hints at the improved AI capabilities behind the scenes. Siri’s interactions have also improved, with Apple Intelligence enabling a more natural conversation flow. Siri is now better at recognizing commands even if you stumble over words, and it listens more attentively after delivering results, making it easier to ask follow-up questions.
Clean Up: Remove Distractions from Your Photos: With Clean Up in the Photos app, Apple Intelligence allows you to remove unwanted objects from photos directly on your iPhone. Whether it’s a stray piece of litter or a smudge on the lens, Clean Up uses AI to identify and erase distractions, filling in the edited areas with plausible backgrounds using generative AI.
Simply open the Photos app, tap Edit on the image, and select Clean Up. The app will analyze the photo, suggest potential areas to remove, and highlight them for easy selection. Though it may not always deliver flawless results, Clean Up is perfect for quick, on-the-go edits and can handle minor adjustments without needing a third-party app.
Apple’s First Steps into AI on iOS: What’s Next? While Apple Intelligence’s debut features are practical and accessible, they represent only a fraction of Apple’s AI potential. With further updates expected, including possible ChatGPT integration and enhanced personalization, Apple is positioning itself as a serious player in the AI space. If these early tools are any indication, iOS users can expect Apple Intelligence to play a significant role in enhancing productivity, personalization, and digital convenience in the future.
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