iPhone 16 launch: Full Apple Intelligence features coming with iOS 18.1 update next month

Apple Intelligence, the much-anticipated integration of artificial intelligence (AI) features into Apple devices, was one of the highlights of the company’s “It’s Glowtime” event on Monday. The features were first shown off at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. The company is bringing them to the iPhone 16 series, which was introduced at the event on September 9, as well as last year’s iPhone 15 Pro models. Features like Writing Tools, Notification Summary, and Object Removal Tool will be available in beta when the iOS 18.1 update is released next month.

Apple Intelligence Features Announced at iPhone 16 Launch Event

While Apple Intelligence features have been known since WWDC 2024 in June, the tech giant has announced which features will be introduced with the iOS 18.1 beta update. These features will also be introduced with iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

Apple has confirmed that the AI ​​features will be available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with the M1 and later, with the device language and Siri set to US English. Let’s take a look at the features that users will soon be able to try out.

• Writing tools: AI-powered writing tools will be available in various Apple apps like Mail, Messages, Notes, and more. These tools offer several features like text summarization, text generation, text enhancement, and more. Users can also ask the AI ​​to extend the message or email using AI. Moreover, users can also rewrite it in different styles using manual suggestions as well.
• Notifications Summary: Another interesting feature coming with the iOS 18 update is the notification summary. This feature uses Apple Intelligence to eliminate the clutter from a large number of notifications in two ways. First, priority notifications are automatically evaluated by the AI ​​and added to the top of the pile. These notifications will also be summarized so that users don’t have to go through the details. Second, the AI ​​will understand the content of the notification and show only the ones that require immediate attention.
• Cleaning in pictures: Clean Up is essentially an object removal feature that lets users remove unwanted objects or people from a photo. This could be people blocking the view of a famous monument or an out-of-place object placed in the background of a memorable selfie. The AI ​​can remove these automatically or let the user highlight a specific object or person to remove and fill in the background.
• AI Search in Photos: Apple Intelligence will enable users to search the Photos app and the images stored there using natural language queries. Users can ask about specific images with descriptive suggestions.
• Email Summary: AI will also be able to summarize long email threads and prioritize the most important features.
• Playground of images: Users will be able to create their own emojis or images using Apple Intelligence technology.
• Private cloud computing: Private Cloud Compute enables “stateless computing,” where a user’s device sends data to the PCC to fulfill a user’s inference request. Apple also claimed that user data only remains on the server until it is returned to the device, and “no user data is stored in any form after the response is returned.”

The first set of features will be available in English (US). Localized English languages ​​will be added in December, and support for more languages, such as Chinese, Spanish, French, and Japanese, will be added next year.

AI features coming in future updates

While the aforementioned features will be available by the end of this month, there are other Apple Intelligence features that will be available with future iOS updates. These include ChatGPT-related features, an update to Siri, and Genmoji.

• ChatGPT Integration: ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot, will be integrated with Siri and system-wide writing tools. It will also provide image and document processing capabilities for various tools on the device. The most important use case will be given to Siri, which will be able to access the chatbot with user consent and provide both network-related queries and answers to questions requiring deeper knowledge.
• Smarter Siri: Siri, the virtual assistant on Apple devices, is also getting a significant update. Apple has promised a new AI-powered conversational feature that will allow the AI ​​tool to interact with users in natural language. Siri will also be able to handle more complex tasks, as well as perform tasks across apps.
• Genmoji: Apple Intelligence will also release Genjomi, a visual tool that turns a sketch into a related image. Users can also upload their images and turn them into an artistic interpretation.
• Visual intelligence: Users can tap the Camera Control button to activate AI and find more information about the photos they take. They can also book a reservation or tickets to a location. It is a visual search tool, similar to Google Lens. It will also be integrated with ChatGPT to provide improved computer vision processing. Apple says users can upload an image of a math problem and find its solutions.