So the moment has finally arrived for AI to receive the Apple treatment.
Marketed as “AI for the rest of us” and “personal intelligence right where you need it,” Apple Intelligence will roll out in the UK as part of updates for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac starting in December 2024.
By partnering with ChatGPT – one of the most recognised AI interfaces – Apple will combine established expertise and computational power with its own innovative AI features.
With AI proving transformative in convenience and potential – yet mired in controversy over alleged misuse of intellectual property – is this the right time, and the right approach, for Apple to take the spotlight in the AI arena?
As a self-confessed Apple fanboy, let me be your “Supercharged Siri” and find out…
Goodbye Grammarly?
Apple wants us to believe that its new features won’t just be smart – they’ll be practically psychic. If you’ve ever wished your tech could meet you halfway, this might just be the moment.
One standout feature is Writing Tools. Seamlessly integrated into Notes, Messages, and Mail, it can summarise text, proofread your work, and generate alternative versions to find the perfect wording.
Users can adjust the tone of entire documents with a tap or two. Worried your message might come across as abrupt? Select “friendly.” Prone to rambling? Opt for “concise.” The proofread function also goes beyond basic grammar checks, analysing word choice and sentence structure while providing clear explanations for its suggestions, making edits simple to accept or reject.
Writing Tools is expected to roll out across most writing platforms, including third-party apps and websites, effectively removing the need for additional apps like Grammarly.
What’s more, according to the press release, its intuitive functionality means that the humble phone call may never quite be the same again…
In the Notes and Phone apps, users can now record, transcribe, and summarise audio. When a recording is initiated during a call, participants are automatically notified, and once the call ends, Apple Intelligence generates a summary to help recall key points.
… all innovations aimed at cutting down time spent on admin, freeing us to focus on the more meaningful, human aspects of daily life.
Emojis, Reinvented
And when words fall short, the new “Genmoji” feature lets you capture your mood perfectly – emoji-fied to the last detail. After all, nothing quite conveys that Friday feeling like a T-Rex in a tutu on a surfboard! Think of it as a digital mood ring, tailored to your exact vibe. No more settling for a generic smiley when you're juggling joy, sarcasm, and impending coffee withdrawal.
As for the older generation's “thumbs up” emoji addiction? Well, even Apple has its limits – they’re tech innovators, not miracle workers.
Apple hopes visual thinkers will rejoice nevertheless. The “Image Playground” lets you create crisp visuals in a flash. Pick your style – sketch, illustration, or animation – and we’re promised instant artistry. Feeling more hands-on? The “Image Wand” takes your real life doodles (even your stick figures) and transforms them into something gallery-worthy. You’re now a creative genius, and your friends never need to know the Wand did the heavy lifting. Expelli-AI-rmus!
For moving images, the “Memory Movie” feature takes AI’s knack for recognising faces and events to create personalised showreels – complete with music of your choice – on demand. Sound familiar? Unlike the limited and rigid customisation options in the Photos app’s standard slideshows, “Memory Movie” offers far more control. You can adjust the theme, refine fonts, switch music, and edit the length for a truly tailored experience. Think of it as your own sentimental Spielberg, minus the baseball cap and megaphone.
Siri: Less Butler, More Bestie
Gone are the days of speaking to Siri like a 1920s butler (“Play jazz music, if you please”). With the “Supercharged Siri” feature, you can stumble over your words, ramble a bit, or even go off on tangents… and Siri will still understand. It might seem like a small upgrade, but the real game-changer is its memory. Ask about tomorrow’s weather in Paris, and you can seamlessly follow up with, “Add a reminder for my trip there,” and – et voilà! – Siri’s got you covered
But that’s not all. Siri can learn from your calendar and emails to answer hyper-specific questions like, “When’s Mike’s flight landing?” or “What’s our dinner plan?” By cross-referencing your apps and emails, it works like a digital Sherlock Holmes. And for those moments when speaking out loud isn’t ideal (looking at you, quiet carriage), you can now type your queries to Siri instead.
And then there’s “Priority Notifications.” This feature ensures important messages don’t get lost beneath a flood of random alerts by nudging the crucial ones to the top. So, if your partner texts “I’m ordering Dominos” on New Year’s Eve and your group chat explodes into a debate about the merits of pineapple on pizza, you’ll see the original message first.
Safety First?
Given that competitors like Google and Samsung have already introduced devices with AI capabilities, it’s reasonable to conclude that Apple has approached this market with caution, ensuring its virtual ducks are firmly in a row. Indeed, a glance at any press release or interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook – such as his conversation with The Washington Post – reveals that “safety-first” is a guiding principle. But can Apple truly protect our data?
Most Apple Intelligence processing is handled directly on the device, keeping your data local and secure. For more complex queries requiring cloud processing, Apple takes extra precautions by anonymising and encrypting the data before it’s transmitted. This means your information is scrambled and stripped of identifiers, ensuring that neither Apple nor ChatGPT can sneak a peek at the contents.
Some remain sceptical, highlighting a potential grey area: anonymised data isn’t bulletproof. If your query is highly specific – say, asking Siri to remind you to feed your pet platypus, Pedro – it could, in theory, be traced back to you. While such scenarios are rare, they’re worth bearing in mind.
To further allay fears, Apple is introducing the “Apple Intelligence Report” – a detailed breakdown on your device, showing how each Siri request was processed, what data was used, and where it was sent. It offers a glimpse behind the curtain, giving you greater control and understanding of your AI interactions.
So Apple seems to be working hard to balance convenience with security. By processing most data locally and anonymising anything that leaves your device, they’re setting a reassuring privacy standard. But remember, no system is entirely invulnerable. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of AI wading through your digital life, it’s always wise to dig into the settings and tailor what Apple Intelligence can access.
When it comes to your data, staying informed is the smartest thing you can do. For more on being mindful of your digital fingerprint, check out my video.
The First Bites
When stacked against other integrated AI providers, Apple Intelligence appears to be setting the pace. Tech blogger Alex Wawro observed, “As of November 2024, Windows Copilot has been available for a full year, yet it can’t do things that Apple Intelligence handles with ease.”
However, not all early reviews have been glowing. Craig Grannell of Stuff.tv offered a mixed verdict, describing it as “very Apple but not very intelligent.” Ouch. While he praised the “Memory Movie” feature, he found the notification summaries “deeply and amusingly surreal”:
In attempting to compress messages from friends, Apple Intelligence resorts to bizarre and almost haiku-like constructions as algorithms strip context and attempt to squash what remains into a handful of words. '7cm snow reported; complaining about tax dodging by landowners', it said last week. I was grateful for the semi-colon, inferring that it probably wasn’t the snow itself that was very grumpy.
He continues…
The problem isn’t Apple Intelligence, really – it’s artificial intelligence. The clue is in the name. This isn’t intelligence – its various flavours of fancy autocomplete, using masses of training data to figure out what comes next – be that the next word in a sentence, or the next pixel in a photo. Which is why output from these systems varies wildly between faintly magical to unbelievably boneheaded.
Sabiq Shah, writing in the Evening Standard sees promise in Apple Intelligence that hasn’t yet come to fruition:
Despite the underwhelming nature of it all, Apple still has plenty of time to polish up its AI. And, it could very well inject it with a much-needed dose of fun with the launch of image and emoji generation in the coming months. For now, it’s hard for me to recommend upgrading to a new iPhone just for Apple Intelligence.
Lida Eadicicco, who tested a limited range of features during the beta phase, shared her thoughts with CNET, echoing a sense of reserved enthusiasm:
I've found a few instances in which it's been meaningfully helpful–such as text message summaries–and that provide a glimpse into how our iPhones will get more intelligent in the future. But other features, like the ability to rewrite text, I can see being easily forgotten.
Conclusion
Apple Intelligence has all the trademarks of a classic Apple launch: bold promises, sleek design, and a healthy dose of scepticism from early testers. Whether it’s reimagining emojis as mood mirrors, creating artistic masterpieces from stick figures, or crafting context-aware conversations, there’s no denying the ambition.
But its true value will only become evident as adoption grows and the system gains enough data (encrypted and anonymised, of course) to refine its responses. As with any transformative technology, particularly one as complex as AI, the real test will be in everyday use.
For now, Apple seems to be charting a thoughtful, privacy-first path in its AI journey. Whether this will be enough to outpace competitors and convert sceptics remains to be seen.
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