First Look: Apple Intelligence on iOS 18.1

The update went live on Monday, and I downloaded it that evening. I wanted to access Apple Intelligence immediately, despite it still being in beta, so I changed my device settings to English United States and region to the US, plus used a VPN on top of that.

It unlocked Apple Intelligence but I had to join a waitlist before getting access, which took about two hours to get in.

If anyone wishes to do the same, do so at your own risk because certain apps that are meant to work in South Africa only will not function, such as DStv, Takealot, etc. You can still access them via a web browser.

However, if you want to see how it works without the workaround or would rather wait for official support for South Africa in December, the iStore is offering free training slots across the country, which can be booked online or via walk-ins.

As mentioned, Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone, plus iPadOS 18.1, and the macOS Sequoia 15.1 update.

The training slots cover Apple Intelligence at a basic level, how to transform your business, elevate productivity and use it for illustration in a more creative space, plus 1-on-1 slots for Mac and iPhone.

I was invited by the iStore to get a quick overview of it, plus I had already been using it on my phone. I got to see how it works on a Macbook from a desktop setting.

Apple Intelligence: first impressions

One of the features that I was most excited to test was Call Recording. This is the first time iPhone supports it natively, and prior to that, Apple never allowed third-party access to the microphone while on a call.

I made calls of varying lengths, and it informed the other party the call was being recorded. It transcribed two out of three successfully.

The summaries were somewhat amusing, but mostly accurate. This is from a call to my sister: “the two friends discuss their plans for dinner and share their thoughts on a new cooking sauce.”

Another feature that I am starting to like is summaries for notifications, directly on the notification screen. I can quickly get a glance at my email in summary form without going into the app, which is nifty.

Summaries work across any app, too, and I think work well on Mac. You can use it on the Mail app, and Safari, where it would be most useful. If you’re in a hurry, you can get a summary of lengthy emails to filter out the important ones.

Another powerful new feature is Writing Tools, which works once you select text. Here, you can proofread or rewrite, use tone such as friendly, professional and concise, and then get a summary, key points, list or convert to a table. Sort of what you can do with other third-party tools.

I think it’s useful if you are struggling to compose a reply to a tricky situation and may be worth getting ideas on how to phrase your email using it natively may be a better user experience than copying from other apps.

If you are creating a draft travel plan and putting time slots for activities on a document, you can select the text and it will turn it into a table for you.

I also think it could be useful for research. If you come across a long article, it can summarise it for you by key points or list format.

Another feature I tried but I still believe is hit and miss is the Clean Up feature on photos, where it removes unwanted objects from the background. I feel all around, including on the Android ones I’ve tested, that it will get better over time the more you use it.

Memory Movies is a tool for those who want to create a movie from their Photos library, which could be a mix of photos and videos, based on a prompt of your choice. You could generate movies for food, travels, pets or kids.

The Siri update is halfway there. You can still use it and now type to Siri, which is new and a great accessibility feature, plus a new animation around the screen which looks cool.

The other half of the Siri update is coming with iOS 18.2, which includes the chatGPT integration. Customers will know when this happens and can choose not to use it.

Future updates with iOS 18.2 include image generation through Genmojis, Image Playground to come up with anything you can imagine, and Visual Intelligence, like Google Lens where you hold your camera up to what’s in front of you to get more information.

There will also be an inclusion of a default apps section so you can easily access settings for email, messages, calls, browser, passwords and keyboards.

It is also worth noting that Apple is emphasising privacy with its new AI features. It will use Private Cloud Compute, which only uses the cloud if it cannot perform tasks on-device. It works like encryption, is aware of your personal information and won’t collect your data. Once it has processed these prompts, everything will be deleted.

Apple Intelligence with localised English for South Africa will arrive in December 2024. It will be compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, all four iPhone 16 models, any iPad with an M1 chip or higher, the iPad Mini with A17 Pro chip, and any Mac with an M1 chip or higher.

Originally published in the City Press