What is Apple Intelligence: everything you need to know about the AI toolkit
Apple Intelligence is the Cupertino company’s take on artificial intelligence. It’s a suite of tools deeply integrated into compatible iPhone, iPad and Mac devices.
The idea behind Apple Intelligence is to make life easier for Apple users, using AI to add value through suggestions, automations and personalization. That includes everything from Writing Tools to message summaries.
New AI-powered features are being released in stages. With more set to come in 2025, here’s what you need to know about Apple Intelligence.
This article was correct as of February 2025. AI tools are updated regularly and it is possible that some features have changed since this article was written. Some features may also only be available in certain countries.
What is Apple Intelligence?
Announced in 2024, Apple Intelligence is designed to enhance the everyday user experience with iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. It’s a suite of AI-powered features integrated into Apple’s core apps and services, including generative tools for editing writing, summarizing conversations and organizing photos. It also promises a context-aware Siri. Rollout has been piecemeal, with Apple drip-feeding features through a series of software updates.
Privacy is a key component of Apple Intelligence. The toolkit’s contextual awareness depends on unprecedented access to your data, which is why Apple is ensuring that as little as possible actually leaves your device. It runs all the tasks it can on device. When they’re not, Apple uses Private Cloud Compute, a security protocol designed to set a new privacy standard for AI tools.
What can you use Apple Intelligence for?
Apple Intelligence enhances the user experience in several ways. Here are some of the features which have already rolled out to Apple devices:
- Writing Tools is an editing assistant which can proofread text, summarize passages and rewrite your words using a different tone of voice.
- Summaries work across everything from group chats and emails to web pages and notifications, condensing information into digestible overviews.
- Siri gets smarter, allowing you type commands and ask follow-up queries, making it closer to an AI chatbot. It also gains ChatGPT support.
- Photos are easier to search for with natural language prompts; Clean Up works like Google’s Magic Eraser; and you can create Memories from prompts.
- Mail gains support for smart replies based on the contents of emails. Apple Intelligence also automatically categorizes, prioritizes and summarizes emails.
- Transcription is enhanced by Apple Intelligence, allowing you to record phone calls or voice notes and have them automatically transcribed.
- Visual Intelligence works with the Camera Control button on the iPhone 16, allowing you to get search results based on what you point the camera at.
- Genmoji is a generative emoji tool, which allows you to type in a description of the emoji that you want to send to generate it.
- Image Playground is a place to generate AI images, which can be based on your real friends and family.
We’ve put together a full run-down of all the Apple Intelligence intelligence features here, including when you can use them.
What can’t you use Apple Intelligence for?
As above, several Apple Intelligence features haven’t arrived yet. Chief among them is a more intelligent Siri. This is expected in the near future, introducing awareness of what you’re looking at on screen, as well as deep personalization based on information from your device.
Because it prioritizes privacy, there are also ways in which Apple Intelligence can’t offer the same real-time, cloud-based performance as other AI tools. It’s not a fully fledged chatbot like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, for example, and it can’t do photorealistic image generation. In fact, if you ask Siri a question that’s too complex it will hand you over to ChatGPT for an answer.
Unlike Google Gemini, you can’t use Apple Intelligence on non-Apple devices. You need to own one of the following compatible Apple devices to use at least some of the AI features: iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPad with M-series chip, Mac with M-series chip.
How much does Apple Intelligence cost?
At present, Apple Intelligence is completely free for users of compatible Apple devices. The AI features are being rolled out in a series of iOS 18 software updates at no additional cost.
This could change in future. Some analysts have claimed that Apple may start charging for some Apple Intelligence features. Luckily, other industry insiders have suggested that paid AI tools are several years away, with the first wave unlikely to be introduced before 2027.
Where can you use Apple Intelligence?
Apple Intelligence initially rolled out with language support for US English only. In December 2024, this expanded to include localized English for the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Support for more languages is coming in April 2025. For now, your device needs to be set to one of the supported languages to use Apple Intelligence.
Access is limited for users in the European Union and China. Apple Intelligence is available with macOS Sequoia 15.1 in these regions, but users will need to wait until April to use the AI features on iPhone or iPad.
If you are able to access Apple Intelligence, you’ll find its features deeply integrated into your device at a system level. Siri might be the voice of Apple Intelligence, but there’s no single ‘hub’ to access the full suite of apps. Instead, you’ll find that the tools become available in different apps when relevant to the context, whether that’s in Photos, Mail or Notifications. The toolkit is cross-platform, designed to work seamlessly across apps on iPhone, iPad and macOS.
Is Apple Intelligence any good?
Based on our experience, Apple Intelligence meaningfully improves the user experience across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Several members of our team have been using the toolkit on their devices, with positive feedback. Writing Tools work like a supercharged autocorrect, significantly improving the Notes app experience. We also rate the usefulness of Reduce Interruptions, which only allows key alerts through. Other Apple Intelligence features we keep coming back to include article summaries in Safari and the Clean Up tool in Photos.
While typing to Siri is also a useful addition, we can’t help but feel that the best is yet to come, including situational awareness. Although on-device processing enhances privacy, it could also be one of the reasons behind the slow rollout of Apple Intelligence features. The result is that users can get more advanced AI support from other chatbot apps, such as Gemini, or by accessing ChatGPT through Siri.
Use Apple Intelligence if…
You want native AI on your Apple device
Designed for Apple devices and integrated deeply with their operating systems, Apple Intelligence builds AI assistance right into core apps and services, offering contextual assistance within Mail, Photos and more.
You want secure, on-device AI
Built into OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT search allows you to find detailed answers from the web through conversational dialogue. That includes the ability to submit follow-up queries within the same thread, written in natural language.
Don’t use Apple Intelligence if…
You don’t have an Apple device
Unlike Google’s Gemini chatbot, Apple Intelligence can only be used on compatible iPhone, iPad and Mac devices, which means you’ll need to find a different solution if you’re using an Android device or Windows PC.
You need an full AI chatbot
Updates mean you can type and respond to Siri, but Apple’s smart assistant is a long way off the cloud-powered capabilities of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Advancements are coming soon, though.
Also consider
- Gemini is Google’s AI multimodal chatbot. Available as an app for iOS users, it’s also increasingly integrated into the Android operating system. Hundreds of devices are supported, as are more than 40 languages. Features include spoken search and image generation.
- Galaxy AI is a suite of AI-powered features baked in to Samsung Galaxy mobile devices. Like Apple Intelligence, it’s designed to streamline the user experience through automation and personalization. Tools include real-time translation, automatic transcription and note organisation.
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Apple Intelligence is the Cupertino company’s take on artificial intelligence. It’s a suite of tools deeply integrated into compatible iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. The idea behind Apple Intelligence is to make life easier for Apple users, using AI to add value through suggestions, automations and personalization. That includes everything…
