What is Apple Intelligence? All the new AI features coming to iPhones

Hot on the heels of Microsoft announcing AI features on Windows 11 laptops, Apple has revealed what it’s been working on for iPhones, Macs and iPads. 

Here we run down the key features and explain how you can get hold of them.

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What is Apple Intelligence?

It’s Apple’s answer to Artificial Intelligence (and effectively the same thing). It will run on iPhones, Macs and iPads (keep reading to find out which models) and aims to make doing mundane tasks on your devices much easier. It also allows for AI-generated creativity, including writing and images.

It’s coming to the next version of iOS and iPadOS (version 18) and to the next version of macOS (Sequoia). 

Looking for a new gadget? Check our laptop reviews and smartphone reviews.

Siri, search and writing

Siri – the voice-activated personal assistant built into all Apple devices – will see the biggest changes. Before, Siri was comparatively simplistic when it came to responding to voice commands, but it now benefits from the ability to understand natural language much more accurately. 

As an example, if you tell Siri that you want to listen to a song that your cousin sent you, it can figure out what song and which cousin, based on the context of the messages on your phone. It can do this with images, too, bringing up images that match only the description you give it. For example, Grandpa on his Harley Davidson in California. 

It will even be able to get apps to work together - such as pasting images from your Photos app into your Notes app with a single voice command.

Siri can also now be addressed using text, so you can silently give it commands. This is particularly useful for fiddly tasks such as setting alarms. 

Built-in writing aids are coming to Apple devices, too. Give it a block of text – an email or a report – and it will suggest various rewrites based on what it thinks you’re trying to do. Of course, you don’t have to accept its suggestions if it hasn't grasped the subtleties of your tone of voice.

Apple says that much of the AI wizardry will take place on your device, using its processor to figure things out. But for more complex tasks it will send the command to a remote Apple-controlled server to do the clever stuff. 

Got a Windows 11 PC? Here are 3 reasons to try Microsoft Copilot

Images and Genmoji

Google, Samsung and many others have had AI-based image enhancements for months or even years at this point, but these abilities are now coming to Apple devices as well. You can edit out distracting background objects or people, for example. 

Searching for photos and videos on your device will also improve. As well as searching for objects, you can now search for actions - such as somebody dancing in a specific location wearing specific clothes.

And for those times you absolutely need the perfect emoji but none of the 3,664 available to you are quite right, you can ask ‘Genmoji’ to make one for you.

ChatGPT integration

When Apple’s own tools can’t do what you want them to do, it will suggest asking ChatGPT instead. You won’t have to navigate to the ChatGPT app or website; the command will be undertaken automatically (with your permission). Apple says that none of the requests made to ChatGPT via Apple devices in this way will be stored or logged by ChatGPT. 

What devices work with Apple Intelligence?

There are two existing iPhone models that will be able to use Apple Intelligence when it becomes available. They are the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, both released in 2023. Presumably the anticipated range of iPhone 16s will also get these benefits, but perhaps not all. We’ll know later in the year.

When it comes to iPads and MacBooks, any device that uses an M1, M2 or M3-series processor will be able to use Apple Intelligence when it becomes available. For reference, MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Minis and iPad Pro tablets released since 2020 should all be compatible.

See our guide to the best MacBooks plus find out which reputable retailers have the top deals. Looking for a new iPad? Our best iPads guide is what you need to pick the right model at the right price.

What else is new in iOS 18?

Amy Axworthy, Which? senior researcher and phones expert

iOS 18 isn’t just about AI, and there are loads of new features for all iPhones that can get iOS 18. It will bring fun updates to iMessage and the useful, automatic sorting of your emails (for example, receipts will be automatically put into their own folder) and photos (you can now browse by theme as well as by date and location). 

But my favourite changes involve heightening your iPhone’s security. With iOS 18 you will be able to lock some of your apps, meaning they will require Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to open after you’ve unlocked your homescreen.

Or you can choose to hide apps completely by placing them in a locked, hidden folder. This will come in handy for your most data-sensitive apps, such as banking apps, because if someone bypasses your iPhone’s lock screen, they will have to overcome more hurdles before being able to see and open them. 

Apple has said these features will come to the iPhone XR (2018) and later models, so older and cheaper iPhones aren't being left out.

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