Apple Intelligence launched in late 2024 as a set of cautious, limited AI features. Eighteen months later, it has grown into a genuinely useful toolset — though it still trails Google and Samsung in some areas. Here is a comprehensive guide to what Apple Intelligence can do right now.

Writing Tools

Available across all text fields on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Writing Tools offers:

  • Proofread: Grammar and spelling correction with explanations
  • Rewrite: Tone adjustment (friendly, professional, concise)
  • Summarize: Condenses long text into key points
  • Key Points: Extracts action items from emails and documents
  • Smart Reply: Generates contextual email and message responses

Writing Tools works on-device for most tasks, with more complex requests processed via Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers. The quality is competitive with Google Gemini's writing assistance but behind dedicated tools like ChatGPT or Claude.

Siri with on-screen awareness

The biggest improvement to Siri since its launch. In iOS 19.3 (shipping since February 2026), Siri can:

  • See what is on your screen and act on it (e.g., "Add this restaurant to my calendar")
  • Chain multi-step actions: "Find the cheapest flight to Tokyo next month and draft an email to Sarah about it"
  • Access app data: "What was my last order from Amazon?" or "Show me my step count for this week"
  • Maintain conversational context across multiple exchanges

On-screen awareness requires an iPhone 16 or later, or an iPhone 15 Pro. Older devices get the improved conversational Siri but not the visual understanding.

Image Playground and Genmoji

Image Playground generates images in three styles: Animation, Illustration, and Sketch. You can create images from text descriptions or based on photos of friends and family (using their People album). The results are polished but intentionally cartoony — Apple will not generate photorealistic images.

Genmoji lets you create custom emoji from text descriptions. These work in iMessage and can be used as stickers. Quality varies — simple concepts (a cat wearing a hat) work well; complex scenes often miss the mark.

Visual Intelligence

Using the camera on iPhone 16 Pro Max and later models:

  • Object identification: Point your camera at a plant, animal, landmark, or product for instant information
  • Text extraction: Copy text from signs, menus, and documents
  • Translation overlay: Real-time translation of text in the camera viewfinder
  • Restaurant info: Point at a restaurant to see ratings, hours, and menus

Photos: Clean Up and Memories

  • Clean Up: AI-powered object removal from photos — tap on a person or object to remove them seamlessly
  • Memory Moves: AI-generated photo and video montages set to Apple Music tracks, with intelligent scene selection and transitions

Device support

| Feature | Minimum device | |---------|---------------| | Writing Tools | iPhone 15 Pro, iPad M1+, Mac M1+ | | Enhanced Siri | iPhone 15 Pro, iPad M1+, Mac M1+ | | On-screen awareness | iPhone 16, iPad M2+, Mac M2+ | | Image Playground | iPhone 15 Pro, iPad M1+, Mac M1+ | | Visual Intelligence | iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max |

For the best Apple Intelligence experience, the iPhone 16 Pro Max remains the recommended device. Buyers upgrading from older iPhones can compare generations in our iPhone 15 vs iPhone 16 comparison.