Apple just rolled out cool AI stuff: In case you missed it
What to make of Apple Intelligence: Your devices promise to get way smarter, cooler
Hold onto your hats, Apple fanatics.
Apple just dropped the mic at the on-going World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2025.
The tech giant pulled back the curtain on iOS 26, and your iPhone is about to get a glow-up, rolling out a tonne of fresh goodies for Apple Intelligence (AI).
These features promise to help you "get things done easier than ever", according to its software head.
Why should you care?
Well, for one, it makes your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and even Vision Pro smarter than eve, says Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering.
Not just look and feel
Forget everything you thought you knew about your phone, because iOS 26 is bringing not just a fresh “look and feel”, but an entirely new personality.
It’s not only a pretty glow: thanks to “Apple Intelligence”, your iPhone is about to get a whole lot smarter.
How? Let me count the ways
Talk to anyone, anywhere
For one, ‘Live Translation’ promises you to ‘talk to anyone, anywhere’.
It aims to bust through language barriers in Messages, FaceTime, and even phone calls. No more awkward silences when talking to new international friend.
Languages supported:
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese (simplified). Apple promised to support more languages by the end of this year: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese.
How to make ‘Live Translation’ work?
Only the coolest, newest devices are invited to this exclusive party. You'll need:
If you have iPhone 16 models, you're in! But don't fret if you're not upgrading just yet – the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are also making the cut.
iPad & Mac: Check your chips:
For iPads, only the iPad mini (with the A17 Pro chip) is invited to the first round. As for your trusty Macs and other iPads, they'll need to be powered by an M1 chip or newer to join the Apple Intelligence fun.
One important detail to know
Make sure your Siri and device language are set to the same supported language for all these smart new features to work their magic. So, go check your devices and get ready for some seriously cool new tricks.
Other cool new Apple AI tools worth exploring
Apple Intelligence already brings a tonne of amazing features to the table:
Writing Tools to polish your prose, rewrite sentences, and even make your dinner party invite sound like poetry.
Clean Up in Photos magically zaps away distractions from your pictures.
Visual Intelligence helps you identify objects and places with a snap.
Image Playground to create playful images with themes, costumes, and even likenesses of your friends.
Image Wand turns your rough sketches into polished masterpieces.
Mail summaries to get the gist of long emails in a tap.
Smart Reply for quick responses in Mail and Messages.
Siri is smarter, more natural, and can even understand context across requests.
ChatGPT integration in Writing Tools and Siri for extra power.
Natural language search in Photos to find that pic by simply describing it.
Create memory movies in Photos just by typing a description.
Summaries of audio transcriptions in Notes and even call transcriptions!
Priority Messages and Priority Notifications to highlight what's most important.
Notification summaries to scan long notifications at a glance.
Previews in Mail and Messages for quick peeks at content.
Reduce Interruptions Focus to only show urgent notifications.
For artists
Genmoji and Image Playground are getting upgrades. Mix emojis, combine descriptions, and even tweak facial expressions or hairstyles on your creations. Plus, Image Playground now plays nice with ChatGPT for new art styles.
Apps with brains
Your apps get brains:
Developers can now tap into Apple Intelligence's on-device ‘brain’ (their fancy foundation model) to make their apps super smart, private, and even work offline. Think personalised quizzes in your Notes app or searching for trails even when you're off the grid – all without sharing your data.
Your screen is your new assistant
Visual Intelligence lets you search and act on anything on your screen. See a cool lamp? Ask ChatGPT about it, or find similar ones online. It can even spot event details and magically add them to your calendar.
Workout buddy on your wrist
Apple Watch is getting a "Workout Buddy" that gives you personalised, motivational pep talks during your workouts, all based on your fitness history. It even uses a cool text-to-speech model with the voice of a Fitness+ trainer.
Everyday life just got easier
Reminders can identify important actions from your emails.
Apple Wallet will now summarize your order tracking details from emails!
Messages can suggest polls and let you create unique chat backgrounds.
Shortcuts
Your beloved Shortcuts can now tap directly into Apple Intelligence for even smarter actions, like summarising text or creating images.
What’s in it for gamers?
Apple is rolling out a brand-new Apple Games app that's your one-stop shop for all your gaming adventures.
No more hunting for your favourite titles – they'll all be chilling in one happy place.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, summed it up: iOS 26 is going to make your iPhone "even more helpful," "more expressive," and "personal."
So, get ready for an brighter, smarter iPhone experience.
What about privacy?
Most of this magic happens right on your device. For bigger tasks, "Private Cloud Compute" keeps your data super secure – it's never stored or shared with Apple, and independent experts can even peek at the code to make sure.
The annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) runs online from June 9 to 13, 2025. Developers and students also had the chance to join WWDC25 in person during a special event on June 9, 2025 at Apple Park in California.
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