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How to Get Apple Intelligence on iPhone (And What It Can Do Now)
October 29, 2024 Andrew Cheng

After a bit of wait, Apple Intelligence is finally here for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Well, sort of. Right now, only the first set of AI-powered features are available to users, with “many more rolling out in the coming months,” as Apple puts it.

Nonetheless, we’ll show you how to get Apple Intelligence on your iPhone. Do note that only the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 series support the new AI feature, so if you’ve got an older iPhone, you won’t be able to take advantage of Apple Intelligence.

Nonetheless, to get things started, make sure you are on iOS 18.1. Once you’ve downloaded the latest software update, you’ll see the new Apple Intelligence & Siri option in the Settings page. Just click on it, and there would be an option to join the waitlist.

Wait, a waitlist? Why yes, though you don’t exactly have to wait very long to get the feature on your phone. Anyway, once you see the option to enable Apple Intelligence, you can do so and…wait for the feature to finish downloading before you can start using it.

Now, let’s talk about the first Apple Intelligence feature that is actually quite helpful: notification summaries. As its name suggests, notifications from different apps are summarised to show you the key details, so you don’t have to read through each individual notification to get a gist of, say, a particularly active group chat.

Next, there’s the new and improved Siri with a fresh coat of paint. Instead of the usual Siri design, the digital assistant is now in the form of a sleek, glowing light that wraps around the edge of the screen when it’s activated; very nice. Users also have the freedom to either text or talk to Siri now, so you don’t have to rely exclusively on voice commands anymore.

So how is the new Siri in action? Well, it’s…sort of better. Yes, it is more capable than ever with deeper system integration, so the digital assistant can now do things it couldn’t in the past, such as lowering the screen brightness or even lock the phone. However, in the grand scheme of things, it still feels largely similar to the old Siri.

And that is because quite a number of promised Siri improvements with Apple Intelligence are not here yet. From ChatGPT integration to contextual awareness, these features will only be offered further down the line, so it does feel a tad underwhelming at its current state. But hey, Siri does look good now, at the very least.

Last but not least is the new Clean Up tool found within the Photos app, which lets users remove unwanted subjects in a picture. One of the advantages of the feature, especially in comparison to other photo manipulation services, is the fact that it works completely offline, on-device.

Aside from that, the Clean Up tool can also remove objects relatively quickly, though the results are a bit of a mixed bag. While it can remove smaller objects in the background competently, it’s a bit trickier to remove foreground subjects and filling in the missing information, as you can see below. Regardless, it does still work relatively well, in our opinion.

It’s evident that Apple Intelligence isn’t quite fully realised yet at this point in time, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. As Apple continues to deliver the promised AI features, Apple Intelligence will only get better. Hopefully, it won’t take the Cupertino company too long to do so.

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