Photo credit: www.androidauthority.com
After much anticipation, Apple has introduced its AI features under the banner of Apple Intelligence, but currently, they are only available to US users who have upgraded to iOS 18.1 and joined a waitlist. Having used my iPhone 16 Pro for over a month, I was eager to experience what Apple had to offer, particularly in light of competitive advancements from Google’s Gemini Nano and Samsung’s Galaxy AI. Here’s a look at my initial experiences with Apple Intelligence.
Siri’s New Approach
One of the significant changes touted with Apple Intelligence was the overhaul of Siri. This design aims to transform Siri from a basic voice assistant to a more intuitive personal assistant capable of understanding context in user inquiries. Accompanying this revamp is a fresh animation that aims to highlight Siri’s role in the user experience.
I eagerly activated Siri with the new animation, which envelops the display in a colorful halo, indicating Siri’s engagement. Although the new appearance is visually appealing, I found myself craving a more refined interaction experience. While I appreciated the opportunity to use Type to Siri—an option that is particularly useful in quiet settings—accessing this feature has proven to be frustratingly simple. A slight gesture often triggers it unintentionally while engaging with other apps, which can become quite disruptive.
Unexpectedly, I found that Siri’s voice has received a more natural tone; however, it still does not have the same level of smoothness as Google’s AI voices, falling somewhere between human-like and mechanical.
Notification Management and Smart Replies
The notification management system in Apple Intelligence stands out as a strong feature. Unlike previous versions that tended to accumulate and stack notifications from various applications, the new system summarizes notifications from similar sources into concise bullet points. This allows users to quickly catch up without sifting through numerous messages. Although the summaries are beneficial, some context was occasionally lost—such as a friend’s nuanced message about their vaccination timing being inaccurately condensed.
Another feature, priority notifications in Mail, allows crucial emails to surface at the top, especially those that require immediate attention or action, enhancing organization and response efficiency.
Conversely, the Smart Reply function in Messages left me underwhelmed. While attempts to facilitate quick responses are admirable, the suggested replies are often too vague and simplistic, lacking the depth needed for longer conversations.
Generative Editing with Clean Up
Apple has also ventured into generative editing with its tool called Clean Up, designed to compete with Google’s Magic Editor. From a usability perspective, Clean Up allows users to erase unwanted elements from photos, which initially seems straightforward. However, the results often yield surreal and imperfect substitutes for the removed objects, leaving visible artifacts behind. While Google’s solution has matured over the last few years, Apple’s entry feels like an early attempt that still needs refinement.
As an evolving platform, it’s important to recognize that Apple is likely to enhance these features as it progresses with future updates. Currently, however, Apple Intelligence feels somewhat underdeveloped compared to its competitors, emphasizing the challenges inherent in launching a new suite of AI tools.
In summary, while my experience with Apple Intelligence has revealed both promising features and areas in need of improvement, the full potential of this initiative remains to be seen as Apple continues to roll out updates. It will be interesting to see how Apple addresses these early limitations and evolves its AI offerings to better compete in an increasingly intelligent landscape.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Excellent hardware
Flexible cameras
Solid software support
Apple iPhone 16
Great size
Excellent build quality
Long-term software support
Source
www.androidauthority.com