Even though Apple seems to have missed the start in the race for artificial intelligence, the upcoming versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS will feature Apple Intelligence technology, which promises many interesting productivity features. If you’re not up to date with the latest AI technologies developed or implemented by Apple on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, we’ll explain what Apple Intelligence is and on which iPhone models it is compatible.
Apple Intelligence is an artificial intelligence platform developed by Apple, which will also include the famous ChatGPT developed by OpenAI. Based on a combination of on-device and server processing, this technology was announced on June 10, 2024, at WWDC 2024, as a feature of the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia operating systems, and will be available to the public starting in 2025.
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Which iPhone, iPad, and Mac models will be compatible with Apple Intelligence?
Apple Intelligence technology will be available for free to all users with iPhone 15 Pro Max (A17 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro (A17 Pro), iPad Pro and iPad Air with M1 chip or newer, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and Mac with M1 chip or newer. So, if you don’t have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer model, you won’t be able to benefit from this technology.
Update: The new model, iPhone 16e is also compatible with Apple Intelligence, which makes the new technology accessible even in the range of low-cost devices.
In addition to these minimum device and operating system requirements, Apple Intelligence will not be available to everyone at first. In the initial phase, the AI integrated into Apple devices will only be available in English, in countries such as the USA, Canada, and the UK.
What can you do with Apple Intelligence on iPhone, iPad, and Mac?
Apple Intelligence is a powerful artificial intelligence platform focused on tools to enhance productivity and foster creativity.
Writing Tools
The technology includes AI-powered writing tools such as Rewrite and Proofread. These functions help improve users’ writing to make it friendlier, more concise, or more professional, similar to Grammarly’s AI writing features. It can also be used to generate summaries, key points, tables, and lists from an article or text. Additionally, as previously mentioned, Apple will also implement the technology developed by OpenAI, so ChatGPT will be available as part of the writing tools.
Image Playground
Apple Intelligence can also be used to generate images on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices through the Image Playground app. Similar to OpenAI’s DALL-E, it can be used to generate images using AI, utilizing expressions and descriptions to create an image with customizable styles such as Animation and Sketch. In the Notes app, users can access Image Playground on iPad through the Image Wand tool in the Apple Pencil palette without opening the Image Playground app. Also, if you like to sketch with a pencil, these sketches can be transformed into images.
Genmoji
Using Apple Intelligence’s text-to-image transformation models, users can create original Genmoji images through written descriptions. Users can select people from photos or videos and create Genmoji images that resemble them. Similar to emojis, Genmoji can be added directly to text messages and shared in Messages and in compatible third-party apps as stickers or Tapback reactions.
For example, users can choose one or more photos and videos from the photo gallery to edit through a text request. In the image below, colorful stickers were added to a girl’s face.
Siri Review
Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, has been updated with enhanced capabilities thanks to Apple Intelligence. The latest version includes an updated interface, improved natural language processing, and the option to interact via text by double-tapping the home bar without activating this function in the Accessibility menu. Additionally, the new AI technology adds the ability for Siri to use personal context from on-device activities to make conversations feel more natural and fluid.
We hope this implementation will make Siri truly a virtual assistant.
Apple Intelligence adds a feature called Priority Messages in the Mail app, which displays urgent emails such as same-day invitations or boarding passes, with AI-generated summaries of the emails.
Photos
Apple’s Photos app includes a feature for creating personalized memory movies and enhanced search capabilities. Users can describe a story, and Apple Intelligence selects appropriate photos and videos, organizing them into a movie with a narrative story based on identified themes. Additionally, users can search for specific photos or videos by description and/or keywords, and Apple Intelligence can identify particular moments in video clips.
ChatGPT Integration on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
This is perhaps the most interesting feature for many users. As a result of the company’s partnership with OpenAI, Apple Intelligence also includes a system-wide integration with ChatGPT, allowing Siri to determine when to send certain complex user requests to ChatGPT. This system-wide integration is powered by GPT-4o. ChatGPT integration is optional by default, with users being asked before any data or photos are sent to ChatGPT servers, and IP addresses are masked when requests are sent to OpenAI servers. The use of ChatGPT features is free for all users without the need to log in, but paid subscribers can access premium system-wide features by logging in. Apple plans to integrate other models like Google’s Gemini into this system in the future.
Related: The Official ChatGPT App for macOS Available to All Users
As mentioned in the introduction, Apple Intelligence technology is currently in the testing phase, with a public release planned for 2025. This suggests that the new iPhone 16 Pro generation will be perfectly optimized for AI implementation at the processor level.
At the moment, Apple Intelligence is available in the beta version of iOS 18.1, but this is only accessible on iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro devices for a limited number of users.
