Apple Intelligence was announced at Apple’s WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024 in Cupertino, California.
Source: Apple Inc.
Apple on Monday released the first version of “Apple Intelligence,” a suite of artificial intelligence features that will improve Siri, automate emails and images, organize notifications, and more.
The new software, called Apple Intelligence, was released in the developer beta of iOS 18.1, and is also available in similar releases for iPad and Mac. It’s currently only available to registered Apple developers; Apple’s developer program costs $99 per year.
Additionally, users will have to join a waitlist within Apple’s Settings app to access the service after the update, which involves pinging Apple’s servers for more complex requests.
It’s expected to be available to the public later this year, but the version number, 18.1, suggests that Apple Intelligence won’t be released alongside the new iPhone hardware that’s expected to launch with iOS 18 in the fall.
Apple Intelligence is a big initiative for Apple, and investors are hoping that the tight integration of AI with Apple’s operating system will drive a big wave of upgrades over the next few years, especially since the system only works on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and later.
““We expect this iPhone cycle to continue stronger for longer as the 2025 iPhones will have improved AI feature sets (software and likely hardware),” Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a Monday note.
The preview doesn’t include all of the Apple Intelligence that the company demoed at its annual developers conference in June.
Previews released on Monday include:
- New Siri look with glowing edges on phone
- Other improvements to Siri include the ability to understand commands even when the speaker stutters.
- Siri can now answer troubleshooting questions about Apple products
- Improved photo search and movie making
- AI-generated summaries of email, message, and voicemail transcripts
- Apple’s text generation service “Writing Tools”
These features aren’t yet included in the AI preview, but Apple says they will be rolling out within the next year.
- Image Generation
- Emoji Generation
- Auto Photo Cleanup
- Other improvements to Siri include its ability to use personal information and perform actions within apps.
- OpenAI ChatGPT Integration
