These 6 Apple Intelligence Features Prove That Apple’s AI Tech Is Useful Now
Looking at Apple’s recent hardware, from iPhone17 At MacBook Pro M5It’s clear that the company still considers AI processing a core feature, as the new processors within it significantly improve their efficiency. neural processing abilities. Even though Apple Intelligence hasn’t been as successful as I hoped last year, I find myself using several features almost every day.
I sat down to figure out which current features are in regular rotation on my iPhone and Mac. They are not necessarily the most flashy, like Picture Playgroundbut those who help in small and meaningful ways. I want to share six features that I turn to almost every day.
Which iPhone models are compatible? In addition to the latest iPhone 17 family, including the iPhoneAirApple Intelligence works on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, or iPhone 16 Pro Max (or their Plus and Max variants).
More features will be added over time – and keep in mind that Apple Intelligence is still officially beta software, even more than a year after its introduction – but Apple is now in its AI era.
On the other hand, maybe you’re not impressed with Apple Intelligence or want to wait for the tools to evolve further before using them? You can easily disable Apple Intelligence completely or use a smaller subset of features.
Watch this: iPhone Air, one month later: camera and battery issues resolved
Get alerted to priority notifications
This feature only arrived recently, but it has become one of my favorites. When a notification arrives that seems to be more important than others, Prioritize Notifications puts it at the top of the list of notifications on the lock screen (with a colorful shimmer from Apple Intelligence). In my experience so far, these include weather alerts, text messages from people I communicate with regularly, and emails with calls to action or impending deadlines.
To activate it, go to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize notifications then enable the option. You can also enable or disable priority alerts for individual apps from the same screen. You’re relying on AI algorithms to decide what should be elevated to priority, but this seems to be off to a good start.
Apple Intelligence can prioritize notifications to get your attention.
Summaries bring TL;DR to your correspondence
In a time when our attention is so stretched and there seems to be less time to delve deeper into longer topics… Sorry, what was I saying?
Oh, that’s right: how many times have you wanted a version that was “too long; I haven’t read » not only long emails, but also the fire hose of communication that hits you? The ability to summarize notifications, emails, and web pages is perhaps Apple Intelligence’s most widespread and least intrusive feature so far.
When a notification arrives, such as a text from a friend or group in Messages, iPhone creates a short, one-sentence summary.
Apple Intelligence has summarized two text messages.
Sometimes the summaries are vague, and sometimes they’re unintentionally funny, but so far I’ve found them more helpful than not. Summaries can also be generated from alerts from third-party apps such as news or social media apps – although I suspect my outdoor security camera detects multiple passers-by over time and doesn’t tell me that 10 people are stacked near the door.
No one told me there was a party at my house.
That said, Apple Intelligence definitely doesn’t understand sarcasm or colloquialisms – you can turn off summaries if you prefer.
You can also generate a longer summary of emails in the Mail app: tap the icon To summarize at the top of a message to preview the content in a few dozen words.
In Safari, when viewing a page where Reader is available, tap the icon Page menu In the address bar, tap Show player then press the Summary button at the top of the page.
Summarize long articles in Safari in the Reader interface.
Siri gets a glow and better interaction
I was amused during the iOS 18 and iPhone 16 releases that the main visual indicator of Apple Intelligence – the full-screen, edge-colored Siri animation – was noticeably missing. Apple even lit the edges of the huge glass cube in its Apple Fifth Avenue Store in New York like a Siri search.
Instead, iOS 18 used the same old Siri Sphere. Now the modern Siri look is here, but only on devices that support Apple Intelligence. If you’re wondering why you’re still seeing the old interface, I can recommend a few steps to enable the new experience.
Siri under Apple Intelligence looks like a multi-colored halo around the edges.
With the new look comes some improvements to Siri interaction: it’s more forgiving if you come across a request, like saying the wrong word or interrupting you mid-thought. It’s also best to listen after you get results, so you can ask related follow-up questions.
However, the ability to personalize responses based on what Apple Intelligence knows about you is still to come. What appeared, from iOS 18.2, is the integration of ChatGPTwhich you can now use as an alternative source of information. For some queries, if Siri doesn’t have an immediate response, you’ll be asked if you want to use ChatGPT instead. You don’t need a ChatGPT account to take advantage of it (but if you do, you can log in).
Summon Siri silently without triggering other people’s devices
Perhaps my favorite new Siri feature is the ability to bring up the Assistant without saying the words “Hey Siri” out loud. In my house, where I have HomePods and my family members use their own iPhones and iPads, I never know which device is going to answer my call (even though they’re supposed to be smart enough to figure it out).
Plus, honestly, even after all this time, I’m not always comfortable talking on my phone, especially in public. It’s annoying enough when people are chatting on the phone on speakerphone, I don’t want to add to the hubbub by making Siri requests.
Instead, I’m turning to a new feature called Tap to Siri. Double-tap the bottom edge of the iPhone or iPad screen to display the Siri search bar and on-screen keyboard.
Double-tap the bar at the bottom of the screen to bring up a voiceless Siri search.
On a Mac, go to System Settings > Apple Intelligence and Siri and choose a key combination under Keyboard shortcutsuch as Press either control key twice.
Yes, it involves more typing than just talking, but I can type in more specific queries without wondering if my robot friend understands what I’m saying.
Stay on task with AI-powered Reduce Interruptions Focus Mode
Focus modes on iPhone can be extremely useful, like enabling Do Not Disturb to isolate yourself from outside distractions. You can also create custom Focus modes. For example, my podcast recording mode blocks outside notifications except for a handful of people during scheduled recording times.
With Apple Intelligence enabled, a new Focus Mode Reduce Interruptions is available. When active, it becomes a smarter filter for what goes beyond the wall and traps unnecessary notifications. Even things that aren’t specified in your allowed notifications criteria, like specific people, can appear. On my iPhone, for example, this might include weather alerts or text messages from my bank when a large purchase or funds transfer has taken place.
To enable it, open Control Center, tap the button Focus button and choose Reduce interruptions.
Reduce Interruptions focus mode (left) intelligently filters out possible distractions. Turn it on in the Control Center (middle). When something arrives that might need your attention, it appears as a notification marked Perhaps Important (right).
Remove distractions from your photos using Clean Up in the Photos app
Until iOS 18.1, the Photos app on iPhone and iPad did not have a simple editing function. Dust on the camera lens? Garbage on the ground? Sorry, you have to deal with these and other distractions in the Photos app on MacOS or by using a third-party app.
Apple Intelligence now includes Clean Up, an AI-enhanced removal tool, in the Photos app. When you edit an image and press the To clean button, iPhone analyzes the photo and suggests potential items to delete by highlighting them. Tap one or draw a circle around an area and the app erases those areas and uses generative AI to fill in plausible pixels.
Remove distractions in the Photos app using Clean Up.
In this first incarnation, Clean Up is not perfect and you will often get better results with other dedicated image editors. But for quickly removing unpleasantness from photos, it’s very good.
To learn more about Apple Intelligence features, learn how to create Genmojihow to use Picture wand and, if you want to narrow things down, how to disable certain Apple Intelligence features.
Watch this: iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: How do their specs compare?
Your iPhone Wants These 11 Essential Accessories for the New Year
See all photos
