The only hope is that we get what we were promised in the iOS 18.2 update scheduled for the end of the year.
The much-awaited Apple Intelligence is finally here, but most users have found it a little underwhelming. Don't get it wrong, the tool is certainly one with a lot of potential, but given how Apple talked it up in the months leading to the launch, the real update now falls a little below our expectations.
If you have a max-specced iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or the iPhone 16, feel free to check out the Apple Intelligence features first-hand and let us know what you think of them in the comments.
For those who are still contemplating whether to invest in a new iPhone to access the new AI features, here's our take on the latest iOS 18.1 update.
How Does Apple Intelligence Fall Below Our Expectations?
Let's start with everyone's beloved, Siri. Apple Intelligence was supposed to give us a proper integration between Siri and ChatGPT. This means you could interact with Siri just the way you could with ChatGPT.
However, Siri is still not ready to handle complex questions. If you ask anything complicated, it will give you the same old "Here's what I found on the web" response.
Siri was also supposed to add more personal context to its responses, which is also missing in this update. Let's just hope we can get these features in the upcoming iOS 18.2 update scheduled for the end of the year.
It can only either remove an object from your image or change the background of your photo. While this is certainly more impressive than what standard mobile photo editing offers, it's pretty bare bones when compared with other AI photo editing tools out there (Google's, for instance).
Some of the other features get the job done but lack human touch. For example, AI-generated photo memories often get labeled with weirdly impersonal titles. The same goes for AI-generated messages and emails.
Another problem is the weird layout. A lot of features are hidden, so to speak, and you need to search for them to find them. For example, the Proofreading tool is hidden behind the Apple Intelligence icon. If you don't look closely enough, you can easily miss it. Similarly, if you want to summarize a message, you need to pull it down from the notification bar to find the "Summarize" button.
Not Everything Is Bad
Of course, it's not like the update was an out-and-out disaster. For instance, as promised, Siri has started handling natural human language more effectively.
Similarly, the notification summary feature is also quite useful. Basically, it gives you a summary of every notification you receive, including messages and app notifications.
The best part is that we still have December to look forward to. As Apple said, all the interesting features that it promised: Genmoji, Image Playground for creating AI images, and ChatGPT integration, will be available in the end-of-year update.