Apple‘s latest venture, Apple Intelligence, has made its debut, introducing artificial intelligence capabilities to its devices. While the initial offerings are functional, they fall short of the transformative impact many enthusiasts expected.
Apple Intelligence includes tools designed to streamline the user experience by minimizing distractions and highlighting important information. These features include AI-generated summaries of notifications and emails designed to help users get up to speed quickly. In practice, these summaries provide a mixed experience. For example, email summaries sometimes feel redundant, as the subject line often provides enough context. Notification summaries, on the other hand, occasionally highlight important details that might have been overlooked.
The Photos app gets a new Clean Up tool that lets users remove unwanted objects from images. Working on the device, it performs reasonably well with smaller items, but struggles with more complex edits. Compared to similar tools like Google’s Magic Eraser, Apple’s offering holds its own, but doesn’t surpass existing solutions.
Siri gets an update with Apple Intelligence, with a refreshed interface and improved natural language processing. While these improvements are noticeable, Siri remains similar to its previous iterations and lacks significant advances in functionality. Promised features, such as deeper contextual awareness and integration with apps, are slated for future updates, leaving the current experience feeling incomplete.
Other additions, such as AI-generated photo memories and suggested replies in messaging apps, work as intended but may not resonate with all users. The generated content sometimes lacks personalization, resulting in interactions that feel impersonal.
It’s important to note that Apple Intelligence is still in its early stages, and the company has signaled that more significant enhancements are on the horizon. While the current features may not revolutionize the user experience, they represent Apple’s entry into the AI arena. As development continues, there is potential for Apple Intelligence to evolve into a more impactful platform.