Users can now try out writing tools, get notification summaries, and use slightly improved Siri.
On Monday, alongside with the announcement of the new M4 iMacs, Apple started rolling out the first Apple Intelligence features via iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and MacOS Sequoia 15.1 updates.
These new features are available to users with an iPhone 15 Pro or any iPhone 16, as well as iPads and Macs powered by Apple’s M-series chips
“Apple Intelligence introduces a new era for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, delivering brand-new experiences and tools that will transform what our users can accomplish,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement.
Initially, Apple is launching its AI features in the United States, with plans to expand to other English-speaking countries by the end of the year.
Here are all the Apple Intelligence features that are available to download starting this Monday.
Writing assistance and updated Photos app
Apple’s writing assistance will allow users to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.
Users can adjust the tone by choosing professional, concise, or friendly. Text can be summarized in the form of a digestible paragraph, bulleted key points, a table, or a list.
Meanwhile, the new photo editing tool called Clean Up can remove objects from your pictures, similar to Google Magic Eraser.
In addition, the Memories feature in the Photos app now enables users to create movies by simply typing a description, while voice queries can be used to search for specific photos or moments in videos.
Notifications and audio transcriptions
Apple Intelligence brings notification summaries across various apps.
Priority messages, a new section at the top of the inbox in Mail, will show the most urgent emails, while the new Focus, Reduce Interruptions, only surfaces the notifications that might need immediate attention.
In addition, users can now record, transcribe, and summarize audio in the Notes and Phone apps.
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.
Updated Siri
Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, which now has a new design and can understand written text, should feel more natural.
According to Apple, updated Siri will be able to follow along when users stumble over their words and maintain context from one request to the next.
These are only minor improvements compared to what Apple promised during WWDC.
Siri can not yet take action across multiple apps on your behalf and remember the names and addresses mentioned months ago. Such capabilities will be implemented with upcoming OS updates.
More features to come
Last week, Apple released a beta version of iOS 18.2, which will be officially available in December bringing several more Apple Intelligence tools to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users.
These will include the ability to create AI-based emojis, called Genmojis, as well as the photo editing tool Image Wand.
With the second batch of Apple AI, Siri will be able to get requests to ChatGPT, while writing tools will be expanded to include more writing tools.
In addition, Apple will debut Visual intelligence features, allowing users to search for visual information.
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