After years of waiting, Apple’s first foray into AI is finally here, and it’s only just the beginning. Apple Intelligence was officially unveiled at WWDC 2024 and, though it is expected to revolutionize the way the best iPhones work, the new beta only has a few features.
I’m a particular fan of the new AI transcription function, and the writing tools could make for a good Grammarly replacement, but, now that the full upgrade seems to have been delayed, it’s hard not to feel like the new beta is a bit half-hearted. Here are all the features missing in the new Apple Intelligence beta.
Siri 2.0
Siri has been improved with a new look and you can now flick between using your voice or typing to control Siri. It is much easier to access and has an improved knowledge base to work from when processing commands. It is also better at understanding the context for queries but this is not 2.0, it’s much closer to Siri 1.1.
It can’t combine app use, like finding an image in Photos and then importing it to Journal. It also can’t use on-screen awareness, like reading a text you were sent with an address, and then adding it to the contacts sheet of the person who sent it, without opening the app. This is all to say Siri is not yet smart. Its new look and use should set it up for a much bigger upgrade later this year.
ChatGPT integration
ChatGPT is not active on-device in any fashion just yet. When the full Apple Intelligence launches this year, users will be able to use the AI query engine to process requests on-device. These could include identifying plants, suggesting meals with certain ingredients, or just answering a simple question.
You can still use ChatGPT via a search engine on any Apple device but you will need to pay to use it. According to the Apple site, ChatGPT use on Apple devices will be free, and much easier to access.
Priority notifications
Are you sick of superfluous notifications from pushy mobile games hogging up your notification feed? If so, the priority notifications tool can use context clues to put the most important notifications at the top of your screen. This will analyze how you use your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and weigh notification importance based on that. If you are waiting for a call from your doctor, that missed call notification will sit at the very top of your screen as you unlock it.
As someone with multiple email inboxes, and far too many social media to pay attention to, this feature seems like a godsend to me, and I can’t wait for it to launch later this year.
Photo editing
The Clean Up tool can erase any objects that got caught up in the frame of a photo without your knowledge. Does an image have some rubbish in the background? Have you been pranked by the dreaded photo bomb? If so, you can simply swipe over anything you want removed from an image and it will magically erase it.
The reason this function needs AI to work is it has to replicate whatever background is behind the thing you want to remove. Not only does it have to get rid of something, it has to fill in the beach, field, sky, or whatever other backdrop is behind the picture. When done right, images should look like you haven’t used the tool in the first place. Perhaps greatest of all, this can work on all old images so you can edit photos from years ago in mere moments.
Generative Features
Apple Intelligence has a whole host of generative AI features. The Image Wand can transform a sketch in your notes into an actual image. If you are an architect or a casual doodler, this can help add dimensions to a rough idea. At WWDC 2024, Apple showed off a rough idea, and AI managed to analyze it and create an image based on that information. You don’t even need to draw a sketch for this to work. You can circle empty space and it can grab surrounding context to make a diagram or mockup.
As well as this, the new Image Playground is another generative tool that can create images based on prompts, which can then be saved to Photos. You can simply type in what you want and it will try to make you a distinct image based on that information. As pointed out on the developer site, this app can be hosted within other apps, allowing users to create imagery on games, productivity tools, and more.
A similar idea — Genmoji is a new tool that uses generative AI to make new emoji. You can type in prompts, and it will create a sequence of emojis, that you can send to others via apps like Messages. Interestingly, you can even pick out faces from your Photos app, and create an emoji of them.
Mail upgrade
Mail does now have priority notifications, and can summarize emails, which are both great additions but it is missing some key features. It can’t yet summarize priority emails, and the priority notification functionality is rather inconsistent right now, defeating the purpose of having AI screen your inbox.
Though this is more about Siri 2.0 not arriving, it also can’t intelligently add Mail functionality to apps, like asking Photos to email someone an image you have taken with a caption of your choice.
If you’ve managed to get into the beta, you will have a handful of months to get used to all the new AI features, before the next major batch arrives.
