Apple has officially launched the first set of its Apple Intelligence, or AI features, for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users with its latest update on Monday. Originally announced at WWDC 2024, these new features weren’t ready in time for the iPhone 16 release in September.
While many Android manufacturers, like Google and Samsung, have already introduced AI features to their devices, Apple’s marketing for Apple Intelligence emphasizes a strong commitment to user privacy. At the June 2024 WWDC event, Apple shared that many of its new AI capabilities would operate entirely on-device, while more complex tasks would be handled through a Private Cloud Compute system powered by Apple silicon. The Cupertino tech giant also asserted that user data would never be stored or exposed and that independent experts could review the code running on Apple silicon to confirm these privacy assurances.
Supported devices for iOS 18.1:
Although the iOS 18.1 update is available for a range of devices starting from the iPhone SE (2nd generation) and newer, the Apple Intelligence features are limited to select models. Here is the full list of Apple devices that support the new AI features:
What’s new in iOS 18.1?
1) Siri Overhaul:
With iOS 18.1, Siri receives a major upgrade, making it more intuitive, seamlessly integrated, and better at handling complex commands. A new visual enhancement adds glowing lights around the screen edges when Siri is activated, signaling its presence.
Siri’s language processing is now more advanced, enabling it to understand users even if they pause or switch sentences mid-command. Additionally, users can enable the “Type to Siri” mode for typed commands by double-tapping at the bottom of the screen.
2) Writing Tools and Mail App
iOS 18.1 introduces a range of new system-wide writing tools, enabling users to refine text by rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing across Apple apps like Mail, Messages, Pages, and more.
The Mail app also receives a significant upgrade in iOS 18.1, leveraging Apple Intelligence to highlight time-sensitive emails at the top of the inbox. Additionally, users can view email summaries without opening each message. Apple has also introduced the Smart Reply feature in both the Mail and Messages apps, where it analyzes message context to generate quick, AI-powered replies.
3) Call Recording and Transcription:
After a long wait, Apple announced at WWDC 2024 that call recording would finally be available in iOS 18. With iOS 18.1, users can now record phone calls and access a full transcript and summary of the recording directly within the Notes and Phone apps.
4) AI-Enhanced Focus Modes:
iOS 18.1 debuts a new focus mode, ‘Reduce Interruptions,’ which uses AI to analyze notifications, ensuring that only critical updates break through to maintain user focus.
Users still have control over notification settings for specific apps and contacts, as before. Additionally, a new ‘Intelligent Breakthrough and Silencing’ toggle applies similar AI-based notification filtering to existing focus modes.
5) Photos App:
The Photos app is undergoing a significant redesign in iOS 18, aimed at helping users easily locate their favorite memories in photos and videos. A new natural language search feature allows users to find specific moments by describing them with prompts.
Additionally, iOS 18.1 introduces a long-awaited feature that Android users have enjoyed for years: the ability to remove unwanted objects from photos with the new Clean Up tool. This AI-powered tool can automatically identify and eliminate undesired objects or people in an image, while users can also manually select areas to clean up using circle or brush gestures.
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