Apple Intelligence Isn't Life-Changing Yet, But Wait a Little While

Apple Intelligence was first announced in June of this year to much fanfare, and now it's finally available in iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2. But at least one early report says it doesn't actually change the world. Here's why it's not a surprise, and it's also far from the final word.

Apple Intelligence's Early Impact Is Underwhelming

According to a recent survey, most iPhone users say Apple Intelligence adds “little or no” value to their smartphone experience.

There's an important caveat: This survey was conducted before the new AI features arrived in iOS 18.2.

Still, I'm not surprised either. Why?

Because at its core, Apple Intelligence is designed to make slow changes that add up over time.

Major New Product vs. Iterative Product Enhancer

When you think of most AI technology produced by other companies, you probably think of a specific AI product.

For example, there are chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. Or AI-powered smart glasses and pins.

Most companies try to create a “major new product” with AI. That’s not something Apple has done or even intended to do.

Apple Intelligence is built into existing products as a simple enhancement. You could say it’s an “iterative product enhancer.”

Here are some examples:

Apple’s Photos app already had a lot of editing tools, but now it has a “Cleanup” feature. It already had search, but with AI, that search feature is better than ever.
Messages already had emoji, but now you can also create your own Genmoji.
Spell checking and autocorrect were already built into Apple's system keyboards, but AI-powered writing tools are now available, too.
Notifications play a big role in how we use our devices, and they're now (mostly) better thanks to summaries.

None of these features are game-changing on their own. But their influence will grow over time.

Apple Intelligence will change the way you use your device, whether you know it or not

Because of the way Apple Intelligence is designed, embedded into existing apps and features, it will inevitably change the way we use our devices.

There's no single standout feature that will change the game forever.

Hetty's best comment

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I'm just happy that the iPhone now has 8GB of RAM, Siri can tap ChatGPT for complex questions, and the AI suite of visual intelligence, writing tools, and genmoji are always at my fingertips when I need them. They're not an AI company first and foremost, so I wouldn't expect too much, much less compare it to Google and OpenAI's offerings (I also pay for both). Overall, it's pretty useful to me, and I hope it only gets better.

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But there are a ton of little features, and more to come, that will continue to improve and change our devices for years to come.

The thing is, over time, we probably won't even understand what is AI and what isn't. We'll just use the occasional feature on our iPhone, iPad, or Mac and benefit from it.

We're still in the very early stages of Apple Intelligence, but its impact in the future will be hard to dispute because it will be so closely tied to the core functionality of our everyday devices.

What do you think of the current or future impact of Apple Intelligence? Let us know in the comments.