Apple rolls out Apple Intelligence, its first set of AI features for iPhone, iPad and Mac: All the details

Apple Intelligence

Apple has finally announced the first set of Apple Intelligence features for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users. The free software update which brings Apple Intelligence is available with the release of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

It is Apple’s version of AI features. As Apple puts it “Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that harnesses the power of Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks”.

“Apple Intelligence builds on years of innovation in AI and machine learning to put Apple’s generative models at the core of our devices, giving our users a personal intelligence system that is easy to use — all while protecting their privacy,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later, and Mac with M1 and later.

Apple Intelligence is quickly adding support for more languages. In December, Apple Intelligence will be available for localised English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK, and in April, a software update will deliver expanded language support, with more coming throughout the year. Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages will be supported.

Deeply integrated across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, Writing Tools allow users to refine their language by rewriting, proofreading, and summarising text virtually everywhere they write, including Mail, Messages, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.

With iOS 18.1 Siri becomes more natural, flexible, and deeply integrated into the system experience. It has a brand-new design with a glowing light that wraps around the edge of the screen when active on iPhone, iPad, or CarPlay. On Mac, users can place Siri anywhere on their desktop to access it easily as they work. Users can type to Siri at any time on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and can switch fluidly between text and voice as they use Siri.

The Photos app is even more intelligent with many new capabilities. Natural language search gives users the ability to search for just about anything by simply describing what they are looking for. There’s an all-new Memories feature which gives users the ability to create the movies they want to see by simply typing a description.

Users can now record, transcribe, and summarise audio. When a recording is initiated while on a call in the Phone app, participants are automatically notified, and once the call ends, Apple Intelligence generates a summary to help recall key points.