Apple today announced the rollout of Apple Intelligence, a new personal intelligence system that combines generative models with personal context to deliver useful and relevant insights.
Starting in October, Apple Intelligence will become available on iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, bringing powerful new features to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
The initial release will be in U.S. English, with additional English-language support expanding to other regions in December, and other languages such as Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish expected next year.
Apple Intelligence Features
Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into Apple’s operating systems, allowing users to take advantage of advanced generative models across their devices. It supports language creation, image recognition, and app-based actions, all while safeguarding privacy and security. Apple has designed many of the underlying models to run directly on the device, with Private Cloud Compute ensuring that more complex tasks are securely processed on dedicated Apple silicon servers without compromising user data.
Key features include:
- Writing Tools: Apple Intelligence brings systemwide tools that allow users to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across apps like Mail, Notes, and Pages.
- Clean Up Tool in Photos: This new tool can automatically identify and remove distracting objects in the background of photos without altering the main subject.
- Siri Redesign and Flexibility: Siri has been redesigned with a glowing light that wraps around the screen and can now maintain conversation context across multiple requests. Siri also gains richer language understanding and is able to answer thousands of product-related questions.
- Notification Summaries: The new notification system provides smart summaries to prioritize important information, allowing users to stay focused while getting timely updates.
Advanced Features Rolling Out Later This Year
Apple Intelligence will continue to evolve in the coming months with additional features, including:
- Image Playground and Image Wand: These tools will allow users to create images based on text descriptions or rough sketches, making notes and communications more visually engaging.
- Genmoji Creation: Users will be able to generate personalized emojis by typing a description or selecting a photo.
- Extended Siri Capabilities: Siri will gain enhanced onscreen awareness and support for hundreds of new actions across Apple and third-party apps. Users can also access ChatGPT’s expertise directly through Siri or other tools, with built-in privacy protections.
Privacy and Security
Apple Intelligence was designed with privacy as a core priority. Most processes are handled directly on the device, and when Private Cloud Compute is used for more complex tasks, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple. Independent experts are continuously reviewing Apple’s silicon servers to ensure compliance with privacy promises.
Additionally, users who choose to access ChatGPT through Apple Intelligence features will benefit from privacy protections such as obscured IP addresses, with no data stored by OpenAI. ChatGPT access is free, and users can choose to create an account if desired.
Availability
Apple Intelligence will be available as a free software update. It will initially launch in beta as part of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 next month. Supported devices include iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, iPad, and Mac models equipped with the M1 chip and later.
