Apple Intelligence: What’s Actually Getting Updated?

I’ve written the below as a handy guide for new features that have just dropped, with a heavy AI focus:

• **Writing Tools**: This suite includes advanced proofreading that goes beyond simple autocorrect, rephrasing options, and an adaptable tone feature with Friendly, Professional, and Concise options. It also offers summarization, key point extraction, and the ability to format text into lists or tables, making it ideal for summarizing articles or reorganizing information with ease. While powerful, it’s best suited to longer passages, as shorter selections may prompt a warning for reduced accuracy. • **Siri Revamp**: Siri has undergone a significant transformation, both visually and functionally, to respond more fluidly to voice commands—even if the user pauses or rephrases mid-command. It now allows users to type queries, which can be a discreet way to use the assistant in quiet settings, and provides device-specific guidance on using Apple products. However, instructions are text-only, which may be less user-friendly compared to illustrated guides. • **Priority Messages in Mail**: Apple Intelligence scans incoming emails to identify those that may be high-priority and highlights them in a dedicated inbox section at the top of the app. This helps users focus on essential messages without sifting through everything in their inbox, particularly useful for users who don’t meticulously clean out their mail and may overlook important emails amid clutter. • **Smart Replies in Mail**: This feature suggests quick, AI-generated responses based on the content of an email, similar to the smart reply options available on platforms like Gmail. Although it’s not for everyone, the functionality is ideal for users who want to respond on the go with minimal typing, especially in high-email environments where brief, efficient replies can save time. • **Message and Notification Summaries**: Apple Intelligence now generates concise summaries of incoming emails and messages, providing an easy-to-read preview that helps users understand the content before opening. Summaries also appear in lock screen notifications, giving a quick overview of message content at a glance. While it generally works well, it can struggle with casual or fragmented language often found in texts, as well as shorter emails. • **Memory Movie Creation in Photos**: The Photos app can now auto-generate a movie from selected images based on a user-provided text prompt, organizing visuals into a cohesive slideshow. The feature allows for personal customization—users can edit the soundtrack, title, filters, and even individual images—making it an appealing, user-friendly option for creating sentimental or thematic videos from photo collections. • **Clean Up Tool in Photos**: This new tool enhances images with AI-powered adjustments, which can be applied to both new and older photos in the gallery. While it works well for straightforward edits, such as brightening and contrast, it’s not yet as robust as competing brands for complex image retouching. It’s a convenient option for users who want quick fixes without leaving the Photos app. • **Natural Language Search in Photos**: Users can now find images simply by describing what’s in them, which ideally would make searches faster and more intuitive. However, the search relies on precise terms, meaning it might miss images that don’t strictly match the search word (e.g., searching “coffee” may exclude items with related words like “espresso”), making it less comprehensive than some might expect. • **Phone Call Transcription and Recording**: Apple Intelligence can transcribe and record calls, a feature that’s stored in the Notes app for easy access. This is helpful for capturing important conversations or meeting details, though its accuracy depends on the proximity of the phone to the speaker and background noise. Summarization is also available within these transcriptions, providing quick highlights of key discussion points.

Coming Soon in iOS 18.2:

• **Image Playground, Image Wand, and Genmoji**: These anticipated tools will add creative flexibility, letting users generate custom images or avatars. Genmoji, for instance, aims to create unique, AI-driven emojis tailored to users, while Image Playground and Image Wand will likely support artistic and imaginative visual creations. • **Visual Intelligence**: This tool is expected to give more contextually aware image analysis, identifying detailed aspects of photos. For example, it could distinguish specific objects, landmarks, or environments, though it may be limited to the latest iPhone models to handle the processing requirements. • **Enhanced Siri Actions**: The forthcoming Siri updates will include the ability to take more context-sensitive actions within apps and generate responses tailored to a user’s personal profile. This could transform Siri from a basic assistant to a more integrated, personalized helper with expanded functionality across multiple apps and situations.

Which tool are you most looking forward to using?

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