Apple rolls out first AI features across devices

SAN FRANCISCO, California — Apple on Monday rolled out its first set of artificial intelligence (AI) features, dubbed "Apple Intelligence," across its premium iPhone, iPad and Mac devices, marking the tech giant's major push into generative AI.

The release, first previewed by the company in June, marks Apple's foray into an AI race that has seen the United States tech giants rush into ChatGPT-style technology.

Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are convinced that generative AI's powers are the next chapter of computing and have ramped up spending so as not to be left behind.

"Apple Intelligence is generative AI in a way that only Apple can deliver, and we're incredibly excited about its ability to enrich our users' lives," Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in a blog post.

Apple's new features include enhanced writing tools, improved photo-searching capabilities and a more conversational Siri virtual assistant.

The company also plans to integrate ChatGPT's capabilities into its services by December.

Additional features planned for December include the ability to generate custom emoji and create images from text descriptions.

The features are largely being limited to the latest iPhones and iPads, as well as Mac computers.

The powers of Apple Intelligence are for now only available in US English.

Versions in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean and other languages will be released in the coming year.

At the launch event in June, Apple had postponed the launch of Apple Intelligence in the European Union indefinitely, due to "regulatory uncertainties" linked to new laws.

It now said that most offerings would be available in the EU on Mac computers in US English and will begin to be deployed on iPhones and iPads from April.

Apple Intelligence features also include system-wide writing tools that can rewrite and proofread text, and the ability to remove unwanted objects from images.

Overall, the features are similar to tools recently released by Meta, Microsoft and Google.

Amid concerns about the safety of AI models, the company said its technology prioritizes user privacy by keeping processing on-device or by using a new "Private Cloud" system.

This, the company added, will keep personal data within the Apple ecosystem, which privileges data privacy.

Apple also unveiled a new desktop computer, the iMac, on Monday, that features Apple Intelligence.