Apple recently entered the artificial intelligence space with the release of Apple Intelligence. It is available on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. As of now, this is available to a select set of users. As it is Apple, which is known for delivering neat, user-friendly products, people were quite hopeful of it. Early reports have shown that Apple Intelligence does not seem to be anywhere close to what mainstream users are looking for. It’s very unclear whether many of these features are available at all. In fact, many just don’t seem to exist, and the sheer inconsistencies raise questions about Apple still just being in an exploratory phase of AI.
Where Apple Intelligence goes wrong:
The biggest weakness lies on the side of compatibility, as it will be reserved for the newest devices like the iPhone 15 Pro series. The M1 or subsequent chips will only allow AI on Macs and iPads. On another hand, access is geo geographically limited. Users residing in the European Union cannot use the feature due to an issue of regulatory compliance as well as users in China. Apple is working hard to adapt the system based upon the EU privacy standards in addition to data usage requirements. In China, probably it needs to work under co-operation with a local operator to meet the government rules.
Functionally, it is made to keep people productive, summarizing mails, and generating responses or categorized messages. However, experiences from the users’ standpoints are mixed. One feature of Mail-summary-for-example. It’s handy in digesting items found inside the inbox for a select few. Others can immediately observe how the feature might not operate consistently sometimes in not processing information exactly like what the users anticipate. The “Rewrite” function, intended to assist in changing text, only occasionally works. Workflow tools that are intended to make things smoother often feel like more steps and not quite as fluid or intuitive as native Apple software.
Compared to Google and OpenAI, who are the technological rivals of Apple, Apple Intelligence is doing things differently. Although Google has really taken AI-driven suggestions to the next level by including it in its ecosystem through Google Assistant, and companies like OpenAI have been able to pioneer advanced conversational abilities, Apple’s AI goals are rather more conservative. The tech giant is more interested in enhancing privacy and bringing features gradually instead of having a full-scale AI assistant. However, this slow rollout has been mixed as some users were expecting much more from the system’s capabilities at launch.
Other features that were promoted, including “Image Playground” and “genmoji,” are yet to be implemented to allow the users to generate AI-based graphical works and customised emojis. According to updates, these are going to feature in future versions but so far contribute to user disappointment at not having such features already.
It therefore represents Apple’s foray into AI but still doesn’t reach the levels that other top AI platforms operate at. Its limited rollout and sporadic functionality in some areas make it rather a precursor to something instead of a full product itself. Further updates could really strengthen the system, possibly putting it more in line with what users would be wanting. For now, Apple Intelligence best makes sense as a promising, though incomplete, glimpse into the AI ambitions of Apple.
