Apple Intelligence early impressions: First day, fun show

Apple Intelligence

Back in June 2024, Apple flexed its AI muscle at WWDC 2024 by introducing Apple Intelligence for its devices. Since then there has been quite a bit of anticipation — and curiosity — to see how Apple implements the AI features in iPhone. Apple has rolled out iOS 18.1 beta with some of the much-talked about Apple Intelligence features whereas some have been kept for later.

Things to keep in mind

This is a developer beta, so even if you have registered for the public beta, you won’t be able to access it.

While the developer beta version of iOS 18.1 can be downloaded by those enrolled in public beta program, most Apple Intelligence features are reserved for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Even if you are enrolled in the developer beta program, not all features will work properly as it is not a stable build.

Also, more importantly, you will have to select the “country and region” to the US as Apple Intelligence features aren’t available everywhere as of now.

Now, that we have got that out of the way, let’s talk about Apple Intelligence.

Writing Tools

Want something rewritten? Or change the tonality? Apple has introduced writing tools across apps. We tried it in Notes as well as Pages. It’s not a new trick per se but what’s great is that you don’t need to go to any other app like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to make changes to your text. The other good part is that writing tools will be available in third-party apps as well. All you need to do is select the text and the writing tools option will be visible. You can make it concise, professional or get summaries of the selected text.

Call recording comes to iPhone

In a rather surprising move, Apple has finally introduced call recording — a feature that has been available on Android phones for years. Call recording does — at times — blur the line of ethics and Apple had stayed away from it. But now it is available and works quite well. When you make a call, on the dialler screen an option to record call will be visible. Once selected, the other person will hear a notification about the call being recorded. The recorded call is strangely stored in the Notes app. There you can listen to the call or get a summary transcribed. It is a feature that I can see many people using.

iPhone call recording

Apple really wants you to use the Mail app

For years now, the Mail app on iPhone has been there but a lot of people prefer using Gmail or Outlook. Why? Because those apps are better in a lot of aspects. Now, Apple’s Mail app has been infused with AI intelligence to streamline your inbox. There is a new priority card — seen at the top — which highlights emails deemed important. Furthermore, emails now display concise summaries instead of the usual opening lines, offering a quicker grasp of the content.

Photos get the AI treatment

Apple’s answer to Google’s Magic Eraser is one of the headline acts in the Photos app. However, Apple hasn’t introduced it in this beta version. Still, there are some shades of Apple Intelligence in the Photos app. You can now use natural language to find specific images, like "pictures of my dog" or “a trip to Vietnam." The results are impressively fast and accurate. While it's not perfect—sometimes it throws in a few extra photos—it's a feature that will gain a lot of popularity.

Apple Intelligence in Photos

What about Siri?

There’s a nice light show which happens now when you call for Siri. But beyond that Apple Intelligence’s mark hasn’t been left too deeply as of now on Siri. There’s a new text-based interaction mode, which is accessible by double-tapping the bottom of the screen. Siri has significantly improved its natural language understanding and is a lot more patient now. Also, it does a fine job of recognising follow-up questions — something it struggled with earlier.

Siri gets a new wake up call

What we think

Apple hasn’t rolled out the big guns of Apple Intelligence and that doesn’t come as a surprise. In a world where tech giants constantly vie for the spotlight — and there is a lot of spotlight on AI — Apple’s move to keep its Apple Intelligence features under wraps is not unexpected. Apple has always opted for a polished, finished product or feature reveal — a classic case of “good things come to those who wait.”

Apple is aware that it will be put under the microscope about all its AI features. It is still perfecting the recipe and the early beta test will give a lot of feedback on the final rollout. This seems like the first act of the dress rehearsal and Apple is being restrained.

But what we see is quite good and sets the stage for other beta versions and ultimately the final act. The sprinkle of Apple Intelligence in the latest iOS 18 beta does make iPhone a lot more fun than it was.