Apple Intelligence: Coming to an app near you

While the actual introduction of Apple Intelligence isn’t expected until after the release of the iPhone 16 with iOS 18, developers can now begin testing the service on iPhones, Macs, and iPads.

The first developer betas of iOS 18.1, iPad OS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 — all of which contain Apple Intelligence — are available now. These provide access to some — though not all — of the features the company plans to introduce, including proofreading, writing assistance, and summarization tools.

What features are available in the beta?

Apple Intelligence is currently only available to developers in the US (though there may be a workaround as described below).

The beta includes the following features:

Call recording and call transcription. This useful feature records calls made using an iPhone and generates a transcription of the conversation directly into the Notes app. All parties are informed when this is in use.

Tools to rewrite and proofread texts.

Text summary tools.

A new interaction sequence when working with Siri, and the option to move between voice and typed command when using it.

Contextual Answers in Siri.

Smart Reply in Mail and Messages.

Improved photo and video search in Photos, and the capacity to create Memories collections using spoken prompts.

The features that aren’t yet available in the beta include ChatGPT integration, Image Playground, Genmoji, on-screen awareness and intelligent contextually aware features such as Priority Notifications. These are expected to be introduced later in the beta process.

Accompanying the release of the iOS 18.1 beta on Monday, Apple also published an extensive technical report on the Foundation Language Models used to run these features. That report tells us the company used chips designed by Google rather than Nvidia in building its advanced AI models.

What can developers do with Apple Intelligence?

Developers can weave Apple Intelligence features, including Siri improvements, inside their apps. Apple has now made those Siri features (domains) available to developers for use. Some examples include:

Developers can use the AI to create/close tabs & windows, bookmark URLs, clear history, search web, find items on page, switch tabs, and open bookmarks.

Journaling tools can be used to create, update and delete text and audio entries and support rich content, including media and text. 

Document, presentation and spreadsheet tools let users create, open, and update presentations and slides, add media, comments, and control playback verbally.

Users can also open, create, delete and duplicate images and albums. Siri and Apple Intelligence will let you edit image and videos, add or remove metadata, and more. 

The idea behind this is that developers will be able to use these App Intents to make their software smarter and easier to work with, ushering in new generations of powerful and innovative apps. Developers should read the documentation pertaining to these tools, which is available here. 

How to get the beta?

First, a word of caution: at this stage of the beta process, it is highly inadvisable to install the software on mission-critical devices. The Apple Intelligence beta software is currently available exclusively to US developers and can only be installed on an iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, or any iPad or Mac with an M-series processor. There is a queue to access Apple Intelligence. Once you have downloaded the beta software, you can join the waiting list by navigating to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.

If you are not in the US, you might still be able to access the beta by going to Language & Region Settings and changing your region to the US and Siri’s language to English (United States). You should be accepted to the Apple Intelligence trial after a few hours.

Will there be a public beta?

Apple has already explained that Apple Intelligence will be a beta once it is introduced this fall. The company’s decision to test versions of its new operating systems both with and without Apple Intelligence suggest the possibility that public beta testing will not take place until after the introduction of iOS 18, possibly when new Macs and iPads are introduced this fall. 

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.