Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) took the wraps off its generative AI efforts for the first time ever, bringing these cutting-edge features to iPhones and iPads, calling it "Apple Intelligence."
What Happened: At the ongoing Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, Tim Cook's Apple announced its AI-powered personal intelligence features - "the next big step for Apple" - integrated deep within the operating systems for iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Apple, known for building a relatively seamless experience across its portfolio, has added these AI features across apps like Messages, Mail, Calendar, and more.
Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of engineering, stressed another aspect of "Apple Intelligence" - its focus on privacy.
Federighi says users are in control of their data thanks to on-device processing. Despite requiring intensive data processing, Apple says its A17 Pro and M4 chips are powerful enough to be able to do this.
"This release also marks the beginning of a tremendously exciting new era of personal intelligence with Apple Intelligence delivering intuitive, powerful, and instantly useful experiences that will transform the iPhone experience, all with privacy at the core. We can't wait for users to experience it," says Federighi.
Apple says independent experts will be able to verify the company's privacy promise when it comes to these "Apple Intelligence" features.
Biggest Apple Intelligence Features
Siri
On expected lines, Apple has supercharged Siri with several AI features, including the ability to look up information for everything from features on the iPhone to data on the internet.
An important addition to Siri's capabilities is "on-screen awareness" - as the name suggests, it allows Siri to understand what is currently being displayed on the screen and combine it with your request to deliver the results you need.
Apple says Siri will be able to take over a hundred actions across apps as it expands its capabilities over time.
Users will also be able to both talk and type to Siri - just like you can with a chatbot.
Improved Writing
Apple Intelligence also helps users with their writing skills - from making sure your cover letter is sharp, to helping you communicate better with friends, family, and colleagues.
For instance, if you've written an email but aren't satisfied with it, you can use Rewrite to get Apple Intelligence to get it just right for you.
There are other features like grammar checks, a summarization option, and more.
Genmoji
Apple Intelligence brings generative AI to emojis - the company is calling it "Genmoji."
This feature allows users to generate custom emojis using text - just like you can generate images using text prompts via OpenAI's Dall-E, for example.
Photos Improvements
Apple Intelligence brings some highly needed features to the Photos app, allowing users to remove distractions from their photos.
The memory feature also gets a custom text-to-music generator that adds a personal touch to your memories.
Apple Intelligence is available for free with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia.