Apple didn’t invent AI—but true to form, it’s made it feel personal, polished, and seamless. With the launch of Apple Intelligence, the company officially joins the generative AI race—on its own terms.
I’ll be honest, when Apple announced its big “AI” moment, I didn’t expect to care much. I use my Apple ecosystem religiously—iPhone, iPad, Watch, MacBook—but I’m not the type to jump on every shiny new software drop. Still, I updated. I explored. And now, weeks later, I can say: Apple Intelligence is quietly becoming part of my everyday life.
Unlike its Silicon Valley counterparts, Apple isn’t throwing novelty features in your face. Instead, it’s baked intelligence into the everyday tools you already use—Notes, Safari, Messages. As a magazine editor who basically lives in Notes and iCloud, I’ve been quietly impressed. This isn’t just AI for show. It’s AI that saves time, cuts through noise, and feels like it was built for actual users (not engineers).
Genmoji fun
Let’s start with the fun stuff. The new Genmoji tool lets you generate emoji-like stickers using text prompts. It sounds gimmicky, but it’s been surprisingly fun to use (case in point: I’ve made everything from an “apologetic guilty duck” (ducks are my favourite, and ) to a literal “party monster”.)
There’s something both creative and human about generating custom reactions that don’t just look good, but feel specific. You can also create one based on your own face, which is…either cute or cursed, depending on your lighting.
The real power? It’s in the writing tools
The most useful upgrade, in my opinion, is how Apple weaves generative AI into core apps. Writing Tools essentially puts ChatGPT right inside Notes—and without needing to open a new app or log into anything.
As a journalist, I know the debate about using AI at work is far from over. But personally, I try to use AI where I can to work smarter. I’ve used it to summarise messy brainstorms and even polish awkward emails. Just tap, edit, done.
You can now summarise an entire meeting in seconds or even get the short version of a chaotic group chat. It’s fast, fluid, and refreshingly low-effort.
One of my favourite features? You can record audio in Notes or Phone, and Apple Intelligence will automatically transcribe and summarise it for you. This makes scrubbing through hour-long interviews much easier, by just opening Notes and getting the key takeaways at a glance.
Smarter summaries and notifications that actually help
Digital overload is real. That’s why another top feature that I absolutely love is the new summary and notification features. Priority notifications surface what’s actually important, based on context. For anyone who gets about a hundred emails and messages and five newsletters before lunch, this feels like a breath of fresh, filtered air.
There’s also a new Focus mode called “Reduce Interruptions” that uses Apple Intelligence to show you only the notifications that might need urgent attention. You’ll also get automatic summaries of long articles, emails, or group chats—so you can get the gist without the endless scroll.
Siri’s well-deserved glow-up
Arguably the most underrated upgrade is Siri. It’s now more fluent, context-aware, and—finally—useful. Siri remembers what you were talking about, handles follow-up questions, and can take actions across apps.
You can say things like, “Send Cheryl the doc I was editing yesterday” or “Play that podcast Grace mentioned last week,” and it actually gets it. This kind of system-level intelligence makes multitasking smoother, especially when you’re bouncing between work, group chats, and calendar invites.
Image Playground Creativity
Image Playground is Apple’s new generative image tool, built directly into apps like Messages and Notes. You can create visuals in different styles—sketch, animation, illustration—and use Image Wand to transform rough sketches into cleaner visuals.
It’s perfect for turning napkin ideas into pitch deck slides or adding a bit of fun to a creative brief. No third-party apps. No exporting. Just pure, playful creativity that lives right where you work.
Privacy-first, always
Apple’s signature edge? Privacy. Most of Apple Intelligence runs on-device, which means your data stays local. For heavier tasks, Apple uses “Private Cloud Compute”—a secure system that decides when to send tasks to its servers, while still keeping privacy top of mind.
You can also opt into using ChatGPT directly, no account needed. It’s a hybrid model that balances performance with protection—and one that actually feels reassuring.
Still early—but already impressive
Is this Apple’s most exciting product launch in years? Maybe. It’s certainly one of its most practical. There’s no new hardware to buy (if you’re already using an iPhone 15 Pro or M-series Mac), and no flashy UI to master. It just works—quietly, efficiently, and elegantly in the background.
And there’s more coming. Announced at WWDC 2025, Live Translation is set to break language barriers within Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. While chatting with friends abroad, your messages can be translated in real time, and on FaceTime calls, translated captions appear while still hearing the speaker’s voice. It’s private, seamless, and all on-device.
Apple Intelligence is also heading to Apple Watch, with a new feature called Workout Buddy. It uses your fitness history and real-time data to offer personalised, motivational insights mid-workout. Think heart rate, pace, and distance—all processed privately on your device, and turned into meaningful nudges to help you push harder, smarter. It’ll support workouts like Outdoor Run, Cycle, HIIT, and more. As someone who’s never been a gym rat, I’m curious to see if this could be the spark I need to start moving more.
As someone who toggles between creative work, constant comms, and writing on the go, Apple Intelligence already feels like a meaningful shift. And maybe that’s the point: the best kind of intelligence isn’t loud or showy. It’s just smart enough to make your day a little easier—and your replies a lot sharper.
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