Apple apparently hasn’t learned much from the criticism it took earlier this year for an ad showing creative works unceremoniously crushed in an industrial press (see “Apple Apologizes for Tone-Deaf “Crush!” iPad Pro Ad,” 10 May 2024). A pair of new ads for Apple Intelligence portray the Writing Tools and Memories movies as tools for those unwilling to put in any effort.
In the first ad, Apple Intelligence enables a goof-off who wastes time and annoys his colleagues to surprise his boss with an unexpectedly well-written email. It’s not clear that the boss is impressed; he just can’t believe the guy would have written a professional message.
Is the message that Apple Intelligence is aimed at the perpetually lazy? Where’s the positive ad with a dyslexic child using Writing Tools to proofread a school essay or a businessperson using it to understand a complex report dumped on them minutes before a meeting?
The second ad channels a similar suggestion—that Apple Intelligence is a crutch for the thoughtless. In it, a woman realizes that she has forgotten her husband’s birthday only after their kids give him thoughtful, homemade gifts, so she quickly uses Apple Intelligence to create a Memories movie of the children doing woodworking with their father. Apple Intelligence to the rescue! Apparently, making a Memories movie is easier than creating a repeating annual calendar event.
I’m still trying to figure out what Apple Intelligence is good for on my M1 iPad Pro.
I can write, thank you very much, so the writing tool is not for me.
The e-mail summaries occupy only a small square of the screen, and given the volume of e-mails I get, the summaries have yet to cover an e-mail I’m actually interested in or think is at all important. I don’t know how to focus or narrow the e-mail list that gets summarized or how to train AI to do so.
Siri seems more capable than before, i.e. I can give it more complicated requests. For example, instead of “Open Mail”, I can ask “Show me e-mails from my wife”. It correctly identifies my wife, but then it asks me one or two other questions until settling on what I want to say in an e-mail to my wife. I’d have saved more time by tapping on Mail and tapping on VIP in the sidebar.
I suppose if I keep at it I’ll be able to do some things faster with AI and Siri, but for now – re: poor messaging – I waste more time trying to figure out what it can do than actually doing what I want to do.
-awlabrador
I installed iOS 18 a week ago, and still can’t figure out how to do anything with “Apple Intelligence”. I don’t even see any signs of it anywhere.
On which device? I installed it on my iPhone 13, but most (all?) of the Apple Intelligence features require iPhone 15 pro or higher with A-series processors, or M1 or higher on the device with M-series processors.
On my 11" M2 iPad Pro. Is Apple Intelligence not available on iPads yet?
It should be available on an M-class iPad! Ask Siri if she supports Apple Intelligence.
To activate Apple Intelligence on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can do the following:
- Go to Settings
- Tap or click Apple Intelligence & Siri
- Tap or click Join the Apple Intelligence Waiting List
- Wait for a notification that Apple Intelligence is ready to activate
- Tap Turn on Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence is available on the following devices:
- iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later
- Mac with M1 and later
(I haven’t done it yet)
Thanks. There’s a wait list? I guess this “AI” isn’t fully ready for prime time yet.
I think they[re just metering a bit until the fuller release in early December, along with 18.2… So I haven’t jumped in yet… I’m hoping more for improvements in CarPlay, maybe more in Photos.
I’m liking the Clean Up option in Photos, makes it easy to erase ex spouses in old pics, unrelated things in travel pics…
The “wait list” is a misnomer. It’s not really a wait list per se, it’s a “wait” until they can download the feature to your device and install it. I joined the wait list on my Macbook (M1 Pro based) and less than 3 minutes later got a notification that it was ready. The “wait list” is also poor messaging from Apple.
LOL. Does it really do this?
Not automatically, yet, maybe once it’s updated, you could identify the individual, send AI on a mission!
I haven’t been able to figure out how to do ANYTHING regarding photos with Apple Intelligence. Maybe those features aren’t available yet? Or at least not available on Mac?
With the latest update to Mac Sequoia OS 15.1, came an update to the Photos App, so when you select a photo, and Edit, there’s a new option, Clean Up, available, so it may select background people, objects, a a single click will wipe them away, or you can select an area and it will do its best to sort out the background & surroundings, and replace that area… Not always perfect, but a good start… I can see possible future options, remove all blue or red cars, or maybe patterns, or maybe people, from the images…
I’ve fought with Photos from the beginning, bought books, sorted faces how I wanted them, only for a new version to wipe out all my efforts, so I see a lot of room for improvements, if AI can help, I’m interested in seeing how it works out… I used to do a lot of post processing in PhotoShop, but when they went to subscriptions, I bailed, I do have PS Elements, but find I use it less and less…
Indeed. I “joined the waitlist” on my M2 iPad Pro but got no notification that it did anything until a while later I was able to “turn on” Apple Intelligence. I’m not too impressed so far.
Soon, we’ll see what iOS 18.2 is all about…
“The biggest change yet”. I am not too optimistic about this, the bigger the change, the more room for bugs…
But this time, AI smart bugs!! 