Apple has finally joined the AI ​​race. You call it Artificial Intelligence and Apple gives it its own name – Apple’s Personal Intelligence. Starting this year’s annual developer conference, Apple introduced its own personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad and Mac at WWDC 2024. Apple will integrate its new new-gen AI model into next-generation software for its devices including iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. According to Apple, its AI model leverages the power of Apple Silicon to understand and create language and images, take actions in apps and draw from personal context to simplify and speed up everyday tasks.

AI also comes with privacy concerns and to deal with this Apple ensures users are aware of privacy concerns and has designed the system to use on-device processing whenever possible. This means users’ data stays on their device and is not constantly uploaded to Apple’s servers. “And it can access that information in a completely private and secure way to help users do the things that matter most to them. This is AI that only Apple can deliver, and we can’t wait for users to experience what it can do,” says Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Let’s take a detailed look at the new generative AI features that Apple is bringing to its users:

New AI features in Apple devices

1. Apple devices are getting their own AI writing tools: While Apple users were feeling a bit neglected seeing Android users getting all the best AI features, Apple has finally taken a step to bring appropriate AI capabilities to all of its apps. Apple Intelligence will introduce writing tools to help users rewrite, proofread, and summarize text in Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps. The Rewrite feature will offer different versions of the text, adjusting the tone as needed. There’s also a Proofread feature that will help check grammar and structure, suggesting edits. The Summarize option can collapse long text into concise formats like bulleted lists or tables.
2. Priority messages in Mail: Using this feature, users can now highlight important emails at the top of the inbox. Users can preview the summary instead of the first few lines, making it easier to handle long threads. Smart Reply provides quick response suggestions, ensuring comprehensive replies.
3. Improved Notifications: This feature will help you prioritize important alerts at the top of the stack. The summary will provide key details on the lock screen. Disruptive Focus filters notifications, allowing only urgent alerts, helping the user focus.
4. Audio transcription and summary: This feature will help users record, transcribe, and summarize audio in the Notes and Phone apps. Notifications alert participants when recording begins, and summaries are generated after the call, helping to remember information.
5. Image Playground: Apple is also introducing a new AI feature that will allow users to create images in animation, illustration or sketch style. Integrated into apps like Messages, it also exists as a standalone app. Personalized suggestions make image creation quick and relevant.
6. Zenmoji Creation: Apple has also introduced the Zenmoji feature that will allow users to create custom emojis by writing a description. These can represent friends and family based on photos and can be used as stickers or reactions in Messages, enhancing communication.
7. Advanced photo search and cleaning: Much like Google’s Magic Eraser, Apple now lets its users perform intuitive photo and video searches with natural language queries. Users can pinpoint specific moments in a video. The Clean Up tool removes distracting objects from photos, improving image quality without changing the subject. The Memories feature helps users create storylines from their media, create movies with a narrative arc, and match music suggestions.
8. Siri Enhancements: The biggest update in the advancement of AI is the new version of Siri. The improved Siri can now help users with better language understanding, maintaining context in conversations. Users can type or speak to Siri with each other and use it for device assistance and advanced app actions. Siri can now add addresses to contacts from Messages or find specific articles from the Reading List.
9. Private Cloud Compute: This feature will help users by processing data on the device or through private cloud compute for complex requests, thereby ensuring user privacy. This technology enhances computational capacity, and independent experts can inspect the code on Apple’s servers, thereby ensuring transparency and trust.
10. ChatGPT Integration: Apple has specifically integrated ChatGPT in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. Siri can access ChatGPT for detailed responses with user consent for each conversation. ChatGPT also assists in creating content and illustrations through Apple’s writing tools, boosting creativity and productivity.

When will Apple release these AI features?

Although all these features sound attractive, Apple has kept them for a limited number of users for now. According to the company, Apple Intelligence will be available in beta this fall, supporting iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 or later. Initially, it will be available in US English, with more features and languages ​​​​coming by next year.