Apple's first AI features won't rock the world, but it's a start

Apple (AAPL) is finally releasing its first Apple Intelligence features for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It's a huge moment for the world's most valuable company by market cap, and a number of Wall Street analysts are betting the platform will help boost iPhone sales.

It's also a big bet for Apple. The company is expanding the software to include some of its most important products. If it doesn't hit the mark from the start, it could worsen users' perceptions of the future of Apple Intelligence.

The first version of Apple Intelligence – available on iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS 15 – includes notifications and email summaries, priority email notifications in Mail, text writing tools, natural language search and image editing in Photos, and improved Version of Siri.

The most important thing to probably remember about Apple Intelligence is that it won't be available to all iPhone users. The software only runs on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16, so if you have an older iPhone, you're out of luck. For this reason, analysts expect the platform to trigger a rush of iPhone upgrades. If most Apple users can't use Apple Intelligence, the thinking goes, they'll want to buy newer models to get access to it.

And that's helped Apple's shares rise 38% in the last six months. That's why the success of the platform is a must for Apple.

I've been using a beta version of the first set of Apple Intelligence features for a few weeks now, and while I don't think they're the kind of upgrades that will get consumers rushing to buy the latest iPhone, they're helping helping to lay the groundwork for the company’s next AI updates. These include ChatGPT integration, the debut of Apple's Visual Intelligence, and more.

However, it will be some time before these features are available to the general public, as developers are only just getting their hands on them via Apple's latest developer beta. In the meantime, here's what to expect when you download the latest version of iOS and finally start using Apple Intelligence.

Notification summaries are the most useful tool in the early Apple Intelligence lineup, making it easier to manage the never-ending stream of text messages, Slacks, and news updates. Summaries use AI to condense your notifications into bite-sized chunks of information that give you the most important part of your news that you need to know, and it's proven to be my favorite part of Apple Intelligence.

SMS summaries capture the most relevant information from your texts. Typically these contain summaries of texts that are relatively long or complicated. So don't expect every back and forth to produce its own summary.

Apple Intelligence notification summaries make it easier to manage the flood of updates and news you receive throughout the day. (Image: Howley) · Howley

The Mail app also gets summaries of emails, which can be helpful when you're scrolling through hundreds of messages after returning to the office from a day off. Apple Intelligence Priority Email, another Mail feature, automatically retrieves what you think are the most urgent messages and places them in a priority message box at the top of the screen. These are usually emails that contain current information or inquiries, but Priority Messages does not retrieve important emails from sources that I am waiting for and that are usually my actual priority.

Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools features are available across the operating system, including third-party apps, and can make your writing sound friendlier, more professional, and more concise, turn it into a list, summarize it, highlight key points, or compile it into a list convert table.

Apple Intelligence writing tools let you rephrase, summarize, and proofread everything from emails to text messages. (Image: Howley) · Howley

Overall, Writing Tools does an excellent job with all of these tasks. However, because it's based on generative AI, there will inevitably be cases where Apple Intelligence doesn't deliver quite what you were hoping for. I haven't had any problems with it yet, but once millions of people start using the feature, I'm sure some will pop up here and there.

Apple has also added Apple Intelligence features to the Photos app. The one that will get the most attention initially will probably be “Clean Up.” Clean Up, an AI-powered editing tool, lets you remove unwanted people or elements from your photos. However, don't expect to be able to crop your ex out of your vacation photos. Use Clean Up to remove smaller objects, such as a person walking across the background of your group photo.

Natural Language Search in Photos is exactly what you think: the ability to search for photos and videos based on sentences and phrases, not just dates and locations. I typed up footage of “John and Daniel drinking” and quickly got footage of my friend John and I enjoying some adult beverages.

Apple's Natural Voice Search for Photos makes it easy to find your favorite images without having to scroll through your entire photo and video collection. (Image: Howley) · Howley

As Apple improves search functionality over time, I imagine this will finally put an end to the days when you want to show someone a photo from your vacation years ago, but end up scrolling through your phone for an awkward amount of time before doing so you give up completely.

Siri is also getting an upgrade in the first iteration of Apple Intelligence, but this is not the smarter version of Siri with ChatGPT. This version lets you use Siri without it taking up the entire screen with replies and uses a sleek new interface that lights up the edges of your screen.

Siri also recognizes when you mix up your words and need to start a sentence over without getting confused, and can answer product knowledge questions about your Apple device, such as “How do I scan documents with my phone?” That alone will help users may be helpful to those who are not as familiar with some of the iPhone's more niche features.

Finally, you can also type questions for Siri by double-tapping the bottom of the screen. This is a nice addition because sometimes you don't want to or can't ask Siri your questions out loud.

I appreciate the new features, especially typing with Siri, but it's still not as smart as I'd hoped. Hopefully this will happen when Apple integrates ChatGPT into the software.

One of the concerns when using generative AI is the way user data is processed. On-device processing ensures that your data never leaves your device and that any requests or commands you give to AI apps are processed by your phone's processor. Cloud processing means that your data is uploaded to the cloud and processed on a company's servers before being sent back to your device.

Apple says Apple Intelligence uses a mix of on-device and cloud processing depending on the complexity of your requests. But Apple has also staked its reputation on user privacy and security. To counteract this, the company has set up so-called private cloud compute servers.

Apple says that data sent to its private cloud compute servers is never stored or shared with the company and that it is not used to train models, only to answer queries. Apple also promises to allow independent experts to review the code of its servers to ensure that the company does not use its users' data for purposes other than those specified.

Overall, Apple's first set of Apple Intelligence features is a solid starting point for the company's AI ambitions. And while photo editing and text tools are helpful, notification summaries are certainly the most eye-catching. Now it's up to Apple to keep delivering.