Apple is finally embracing artificial intelligence (AI) across its ecosystem as evidenced by the new features included in the public beta of its flagship operating system upgrades – iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2.
The update adds a highly anticipated collection of new tools branded as “Apple Intelligence”, which Apple hopes will boost iPhone 16 sales and revolutionize how users interact with their devices.
Three new features stand out including Genmoji, Image Playground, and deep integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Their goal is to create free pathways to enhanced creativity, increase productivity, and provide a much better user experience on all upcoming versions of Apple’s equipment.
Apple Fully Embraces Generative AI and Inaugurates New Era for Its Devices
Apple Intelligence is a widely awaited leap to the AI era by the company founded by Steve Jobs after a few months of previews and teasers that have left users wondering what the company has in store to embrace and integrate AI technology into its beloved devices.
Top Feature #1 – Genmoji: Customizable AI-Generated Emojis
The Genmoji feature is available to the public on iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2. It allows users to create their own emojis based on text descriptions. If you want to generate an emoji that looks like a family member, a friend, a specific design, or animal, this can be done from scratch by providing a detailed description of the tool.
Accessing Genmoji is quite easy. Users just have to go to their emoji keyboard, enter a description of what they are looking for, and the system will generate a handful of suggested images to choose from.
These emojis can be added to the keyboard for easy access and be used on messages, notes, and more.
Genmoji is a testament to the company’s commitment to empowering users’ creativity and self-expression as they are now able to personalize their digital communications in new and unique ways.
Top Feature #2 – Image Playground: AI-Powered Image Generation
The public beta also introduced a new tool called Image Playground that can generate custom images from text descriptions. Similar to how other AI-powered image generation tools work, users will be able to produce unique content from text prompts that they can use for fun, work, or other purposes.
“The Image Playground feature can create some simple images, and it can be unintentionally funny with how weird other images are,” noted one reviewer.
“In one instance, I selected the prompts astronaut, artist and lighthouse. One of the results showed what I can only describe as a half-astronaut propped up on an easel with blank pages behind them opposite another easel with a drawing of a lighthouse on it. Stellar work.”
While Image Playground may not produce photorealistic images, its ability to generate unique and imaginative visuals based on user input is a first step in the right direction for Apple (AAPL) to stay competitive at a point when these types of tools are proliferating across the web and becoming hugely popular among users.
Top Feature #3 – ChatGPT Integration with Siri
A new integration between Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, and ChatGPT has also been made available. The addition is likely the most interesting of all upgrades seen in the public beta of iOS 18.2 as image-generating tools are nothing new. Now, the popular voice assistant is able to hand off complex requests to the OpenAI AI-powered chatbot to tap into its vast knowledge base.
Users can now leverage the impressive language processing capabilities of ChatGPT without a separate subscription to the service. Queries can be more easily executed with the help of Siri and the latter has been set up to provide a response back to the user once the task has been processed by ChatGPT.
“I asked Siri to use ChatGPT to show me how to brew a cup of coffee, and it wrote out a seven-step process on how to make drip coffee in a standard brewer,” one tester reported.
“The instructions were a little wonky, telling me to measure out my water and coffee grounds before grinding my coffee beans. But there is a disclaimer at the bottom of these ChatGPT requests, which reads, ‘Check important info for mistakes.'”
Although Apple has the resources to probably develop its own AI models, its decision to tap into OpenAI’s existing products may be an indication that the company is severely lagging in the development of this kind of technology or that they are not necessarily interested in investing the kind of resources needed to develop it.
Considering that the company is accustomed to creating its own ecosystem of tools and apps for its devices, the integration with ChatGPT is a relatively odd collaboration. It says a lot about how Tim Cook and his team may have overlooked the potential and huge interest from consumers for this kind of software.
Top Feature #4 – Visual Intelligence: Leveraging the iPhone 16’s Camera
The widely awaited iPhone 16 lineup will feature a new tool called Visual Intelligence as well. This is an AI-powered feature that quickly provides detailed information and insights to users whenever they point their camera at an object or physical establishment.
“The camera control provides instant, easy access to the camera with just a click. It allows you to adjust various camera features simply by sliding your finger,” Apple explained at its recent Glowtime event. “Its convenient design ensures it’s always within reach.”
Visual Intelligence can perform complex tasks like providing reviews on nearby businesses and adding contacts and calendar events based on the information captured. Its goal is to integrate the physical world with the digital space while helping users interact seamlessly with their surroundings by using an Apple device.
“If you have an iPhone 16, there’s a Visual Intelligence feature in iOS 18.2 that provides information about what’s around you,” another reviewer noted. “Open up the camera and point it at a restaurant to get reviews, or point it at an item to search Google for it.”
Writing Tools and Expanded Siri Presence
In addition to the headline-grabbing AI features, the public betas also introduce enhancements to Apple’s existing productivity tools and Siri’s capabilities.
The Writing Tools feature, first introduced in iOS 18.1, has been expanded in iOS 18.2 to allow users to provide detailed descriptions about the tone or make changes to the content that the tool has generated.
The new version can transform emails into poems, lengthy documents into condensed summaries, and news into informative blog posts. Writing Tools may also suggest potential edits that can refine the user’s work.
Meanwhile, Siri’s presence has also been augmented as a glowing light will now show up around the screen whenever the assistant is activated. Apple wants to make sure that users are aware of when the artificial intelligence tool has been activated.
If you want to go even more in-depth on the new features, check out this YouTube video.
Availability and Accessibility Are Limited for These New Features
The public betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are now available for download. This means that users can explore the new AI-powered features before the official release.
However, access to some of the more advanced AI capabilities, such as Genmoji, Image Playground, and the full ChatGPT integration, is only available to those who sign up for a waitlist.
The company seems to be rolling out these features progressively to ensure a safe user experience as this is unchartered territory for its developing team considering that they have no prior public-facing experience with generative AI features. Ideally, the company should be able to identify and resolve any privacy or safety issue that pops up during this beta phase.
“Apple is still working on refining the new Intelligence tools, and the company warns that Genmoji, Image Wand, and Playground can sometimes give you results you weren’t expecting,” one report noted. “Apple is collecting feedback on these experiences and will refine them over time.”
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For users who have already been testing Apple Intelligence features, the Writing Tools, ChatGPT integration, and Visual Intelligence capabilities will be immediately available.
These updates not only introduce new standalone applications and features but also lay the groundwork for third-party developers to leverage Apple Intelligence for their own apps. This could lead to a surge of innovative AI-powered experiences that may further enhance users’ experience with Apple devices.
“Third-party developers will also be able to take advantage of Apple Intelligence features in their own apps — something that could ultimately prove to be Apple Intelligence’s most useful offering, if widely adopted,” one analyst noted.
The public betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are just the beginning of a new era for the Cupertino-based tech firm, one that promises to redefine the way we interact with technology.