After the event of WWDC by Apple, held in May 2025, the company introduced a new and powerful update called Apple Intelligence. This feature is built into iOS 18 and uses smart AI to make your iPhone easier and smarter. Additionally, it will be more personalized and informed.
This new feature, Apple Intelligence, works by understanding what you need. In other words, it is your smart assistant. It can help you write messages, find things faster, and even create images or summarize big paragraphs in nanoseconds. However, the best part is that, just like other social media apps, it keeps data encrypted. Not even the Apple employees can access it. It is end-to-end encrypted.
What is Apple Intelligence?
Apple Intelligence is a new personal AI utility that launched with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4. It brings generative AI and personal context to its device, helping users get things done faster and easier while using it. Designed to run on-device privately or in Apple’s secure Private Cloud Compute (PCC), all users can feel at ease knowing that their data is safe and encrypted on all devices of Apple.
Apple Intelligence enables smart functionalities such as message rewriting, priority notifications, and image generation. With a focus on privacy and security, and easy use, this upgraded AI is bringing a new level of intelligence to Apple devices.
Siri is Smarter (and more useful)
Introduced through Apple Intelligence, Siri has a huge upgrade. It can understand you better, can answer follow-up questions, and even perform actions within apps. For example, you can say, “Show me photos from my trip last July,” or “Send the document I opened yesterday to John.”
Siri understands what’s on your screen, so you don’t need to repeat yourself or switch apps. You also have the option to type to Siri rather than using your voice. Apple refers to this as the “new era of Siri.”
Creating and Editing Text Using AI Writing Tools
Need help writing a message, email, or note? Apple Intelligence has features to rewrite, correct grammar, and summarize your writing. For a student, a busy professional, or even sending a message to a friend, this type of help is worth it.
How to do it:
- While writing in Notes, Mail, or Messages, select your writing.
- Press on the Writing Tools icon.
- Choose Rewrite, Proofread, or Summarize.
- It is like a writing editor in your pocket.
Smart Photo Search Using Simple Words
With the help of Apple Intelligence, finding photos will now only take a few seconds. You can now search your photo library using normal spoken language. For example, you can say, “Show me photos of Mom in a red dress” or “Find pictures of me at the beach with Rahul”.
Apple Intelligence understands the people, objects, backgrounds, and context in your photos and saves you from searching forever or digging through albums. Because it works on-device, and all of the photo recognition happens on-device, it respects your privacy. Your memories are safe and secure.
Real-Time Translation of Conversations
- When you’re traveling somewhere, or when you’re with someone who speaks a language other than your own, Apple Intelligence has live translation capabilities. You can actually have live conversations without a translator.
How will you use it?
- Open the Translate app, or you can ask Siri to translate.
- You can say:
- “Translate ‘How much does this cost?’ into French.”
- The app will speak out loud and display the text in no time.
Intelligent App Suggestions to Tailor to Your Routine
Apple Intelligence uses machine learning on-device to learn your app usage, to know when to suggest apps with contextually-aware recommendations. Context can include the time of day, physical location, app usage, or calendar events, and Apple Intelligence can suggest things or ask to open apps earlier than you may want to.
For example, you typically open the Fitness app after lunch or check meeting notes before your 3 PM meeting. In that case, your iPhone can now suggest alternative apps and shortcuts at the right time. All of this is done from the Lock Screen, Spotlight, or Siri Suggestions.
Smart Notifications and Summarization
Apple Intelligence produces priority-determined, smart notifications, using on-device intelligence to filter out and highlight only the important notifications for the context, including time, location, calendar, and people you typically work with.
It is even capable of summarizing longer notifications, emails, or messages into short-meaning highlights using generative AI models.
Privacy-focused AI That Respects You
Apple Intelligence is specifically designed to protect your privacy. Even if Apple has to use the cloud, it does not share any data with the cloud through traditional means. They utilize a secure private cloud computing system to safeguard your information and maintain its privacy.
All data sent to the cloud is encrypted. This means you are the only one able to see it – not even other Apple employees can see it.
Unlike other AI, Apple Intelligence does not monitor you or use your data for advertising purposes, ensuring your privacy is always protected.
Record, Transcribe, and Summarize Audio Instantly
When you record a meeting, lecture, or a voice memo, Apple Intelligence can transcribe audio into text and summarize the audio. This is an excellent resource for students, professionals, or anyone recording voice notes.
How to use it:
- Open the Notes app.
- Start a new note and tap the microphone icon to record.
- Once you stop recording, Apple Intelligence will transcribe and summarize the audio.
- Now there is no more “force” to take notes while listening.
Make Fun Images and Emojis with Genmoji and Image Playground
Apple Intelligence has now revealed a generative AI offering called Genmoji. Genmoji is a new way for users to create emojis based on text prompts, all with on-device models. Users can define any concept, like “robot eating ice cream,” and a different emoji will be produced for each.
Image Playground is an image generation capability that lets users create real-time images in multiple styles (like sketch, 3D, or animation). The feature is integrated into apps like Messages, Notes, and Keynote.
Use Visual Lookup to Discover the World
Apple is refining Visual Lookup with generative AI and deep understanding on your device. You can now just point your camera or select an image, and your iPhone will identify objects, landmarks, plants, animals, etc., and even signs or symbols in real time.Â
They have also added features that will allow you to lift texts, parts of an image, or subjects in a picture and get instant descriptions. Let’s say you tap on an unknown symbol on an instruction pamphlet, and Visual Lookup identifies it.
Smarter Siri With Built-in ChatGPT
With Apple AI or Apple Intelligence, users can get smarter responses from Siri. This is because OpenAI’s ChatGPT is now integrated into Siri. Apple users can expect the following improvements:
- No need to switch between apps, as ChatGPT works in the background.
- Users can get more helpful answers to complex questions.
- For visual content, including photos and documents, Siri can be asked.
- Along with Siri and ChatGPT, creative writing becomes easier.
- Privacy is also maintained.
- Users will be asked to confirm before sharing any information with ChatGPT.
- No account is needed to access it through Siri.
- To take advantage of advanced features, one can subscribe to it, too.
Why Apple Intelligence is Different?
Many other AI assistants (like ChatGPT & Google Assistant) use the cloud to function by sending your data to the internet. Apple does not use the cloud to power Apple Intelligence. Everything happens on your iPhone.
With that approach, you get:
- Faster responses
- Better privacyÂ
- More control over your data
- The smart features you want without having to give up any privacy.
With Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, you are not only going to call on a phone but also on a personal assistant, a creative partner, a translator, a productivity coach, and more. Whether it is smarter Siri, AI write suggestions, better notifications, or new custom emojis to have fun with, the new capabilities Apple has provided with the iPhone make your phone more valuable and fun than ever. Additionally, integrating ChatGPT into Siri will provide an exceptional user experience.
