Apple Intelligence was first announced this June to much fanfare, and now it’s finally available via iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2. But at least one early report say it’s not really changing the world. Here’s why that’s not a surprise, and it’s also very much not the last word.
Early Apple Intelligence impact is underwhelming
According to a recent survey, most iPhone users say Apple Intelligence adds ‘little to no value’ to their smartphone experience.
There’s an important caveat, which is that this survey took place before iOS 18.2’s new AI features arrived.
That said, I’m also not surprised. Why?
Because by design, Apple Intelligence is meant to bring a slow drip of change that adds up over time.
Major new product vs. iterative product enhancer
When you think about most of the AI technology being produced by other companies, you’ll probably think about a specific AI product.
For example, there are chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. Or AI-driven smart glasses and pins.
Most companies are attempting to make a ‘major new product’ with AI. That’s not what Apple did, 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 bunch of editing tools, but now it has Clean Up too. It already had search, but with AI that search feature is better than ever.
- Messages already had emoji, but now you can create custom Genmoji too.
- Spellcheck and autocorrect were already built into Apple’s systemwide keyboards, but now AI writing tools are available too.
- Notifications are a big part of our device use, and now they’re (mostly) better thanks to summaries.
None of these features are game-changers on their own. But over time their impact will grow.
Apple Intelligence will change your device use, whether you know it or not
Because of the way Apple Intelligence is designed, being baked into existing apps and features, it’s inevitably going to change the way we use our devices.
There’s not one show-stopper feature that changes the game forever.
But there are a ton of little features, with more on the way, that will continue enhancing and altering our devices for years to come.
The thing is, over time we probably won’t even realize what’s AI and what isn’t. We’ll just use a random feature on our iPhone, iPad, or Mac and benefit from it.
We’re still in the very early days of Apple Intelligence, but its impact moving forward will be hard to dispute, because it will be tied so closely with the basic functionality of our everyday devices.
What do you think of Apple Intelligence’s present or future impact? Let us know in the comments.
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