Apple Intelligence brings ChatGPT, other new smart features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

This utilizes generative AI to improve user experience.

Photo via Apple

Personal intelligence system

Apple has introduced its Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This uses generative models and is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

We're thrilled to introduce a new chapter in Apple innovation. Apple Intelligence will transform what users can do with our products—and what our products can do for our users, said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Our unique approach combines generative AI with a user's personal context to deliver truly helpful intelligence. 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 as only Apple can deliver it, and we can’t wait for users to experience what it can do, he added.

So what does the Apple Intelligence offer?

Among its features is the integration of ChatGPT into experiences within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. Siri can tap into ChatGPT’s expertise, the tech giant said.

ChatGPT will be available in Apple’s systemwide Writing Tools, which will help users generate content for anything they are writing about. With Compose, users can also access ChatGPT image tools to generate images in a wide variety of styles to complement what they are writing.

Apple assured privacy protections are built in for users who access ChatGPT.

ChatGPT will come to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia later this year, powered by GPT-4o. This will be available for free without creating an account, and ChatGPT subscribers can connect their accounts and access paid features right from these experiences.

On writing and communication, there will be brand-new systemwide Writing Tools built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. This will also allow users to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text nearly everywhere, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.

With Rewrite, Apple Intelligence allows users to choose from different versions of what they have written, adjusting the tone to suit the audience and task at hand. Proofread checks grammar, word choice, and sentence structure while suggesting edits and explanations of the edits that users can review or quickly accept. With Summarize, users can select text and have it recapped in the form of a digestible paragraph, bulleted key points, a table, or a list.

In Mail, there will be Priority Messages, a new section at the top of the inbox that shows the most urgent emails. Across a user’s inbox, instead of previewing the first few lines of each email, they can see summaries without needing to open a message. For long threads, users can view pertinent details with just a tap.

Smart Reply provides suggestions for a quick response and will identify questions in an email to ensure everything is answered.

Apple Intelligence also enhanced notifications. Priority Notifications appear at the top of the stack, and summaries help users scan long or stacked notifications to show key details right on the Lock Screen.

Meanwhile, Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus that surfaces only the notifications that might need immediate attention, like a text about an early pickup from daycare.

On the Notes and Phone apps, users can record, transcribe, and summarize audio. When a recording is initiated while on a call, participants are automatically notified, and once the call ends, Apple Intelligence generates a summary to help recall key points.

Image Playground - Apple also introduced Image Playground which allows users to create images in seconds, choosing from three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. This is built right into apps including Messages and Notes, and is available in a dedicated app.

Genmoji creation - Users can easily create an original Genmoji by typing a description. They can also create a Genmoji of friends and family based on photos. Just like emoji, Genmoji can be added inline to messages or shared as a sticker or reaction in a Tap.

Controlling photos - Searching for photos and videos is now easier with Apple Intelligence. Natural language can be used to search for specific photos, such as “Maya skateboarding in a tie-dye shirt,” or “Katie with stickers on her face.” Search in videos also becomes more powerful with the ability to find specific moments in clips so users can go right to the relevant segment.

Additionally, the new Clean Up tool can identify and remove distracting objects in the background of a photo.

With Memories, users can create the story they want to see by simply typing a description. Using language and image understanding, Apple Intelligence will select the photos and videos based on the description, craft a storyline with chapters based on themes identified from the photos, and arrange them into a movie with its own narrative.

Enhancing Siri - Apple Intelligence has also improved its experience with Siri. With richer language-understanding capabilities, Siri is more natural, more contextually relevant, and more personal, with the ability to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.

Among its new skills are giving users device support everywhere they go, and answering thousands of questions about how to do something on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Privacy in AI - Apple Intelligence relies on understanding deep personal context while protecting user privacy. A cornerstone of Apple Intelligence is on-device processing and many of the models that power it run entirely on the device. To run more complex requests that require more processing power, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Apple devices into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence.

With Private Cloud Compute, Apple Intelligence can expand its computational capacity and draw on larger, server-based models for more complex requests. These models run on servers powered by Apple silicon, providing a foundation that allows Apple to ensure that data is never retained or exposed.

Apple Intelligence is free for users and will be available in beta as part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia this fall in US English. Some features, software platforms, and additional languages will come over the course of the next year.

Apple Intelligence will be available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to US English.

Are you excited about this?

Source: Apple