Apple Intelligence now offers Image Playground, Genmoji, and more

December 11, 2024

PRESS RELEASE

Apple Intelligence now offers Image Playground, Genmoji, writing tools improvements, seamless support for ChatGPT, and visual intelligence

Today also begins Apple Intelligence’s language expansion with localized English support for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the release of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2, introducing a range of brand new Apple Intelligence features that will improve the iPhone, iPad and Mac user experience and build on the first features already introduced. Apple Intelligence is the easy-to-use personal intelligence system that delivers helpful and relevant information while taking an extraordinary step forward for data protection in AI. Now users can explore creative new ways to express themselves visually with Image Playground, create the perfect emoji for any situation with Genmoji, and make their writing even more dynamic with new improvements to writing tools. Building on Apple Intelligence, users with an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro can instantly learn more about their surroundings thanks to visual intelligence with Camera Control. And because ChatGPT is now integrated with Writing Tools and Siri, users can access ChatGPT’s expertise without having to switch between apps, making tasks quicker and easier than ever before.

Today, Apple Intelligence also begins language expansion with localized English support for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, giving even more users around the world powerful new ways to use their iPhone, iPad and Mac. Additional languages, including Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese, will be available with an initial batch later this year comes with a software update in April.

Design fun, original images with Image Playground

The Image Playground experience allows users to easily create fun and unique images with concepts such as themes, costumes, accessories and locations. Users can add their own text descriptions and even create images that resemble a family member or friend using photos from their photo library. Image Playground generates images in a variety of styles, including animation – a modern, 3D animated look – and illustration, which features images with simple shapes, clean lines, and color blocking.

The experience is built right into Messages, making it easier than ever to create images for conversations and in apps like Freeform, Keynote, and many others. Image Playground is also available as a brand new dedicated app.

Create Genmoji for every moment

Powered by Apple Intelligence, emoji is taken to the next level with Genmoji, making conversations with family and friends more fun and playful and opening up entirely new ways to communicate.

By simply typing a description into the emoji keyboard, a Genmoji will appear with several options to choose from. Using images from their photo library, users can take Genmoji even further by creating one inspired by a friend or family member. Personalized Genmojis can be customized with accessories such as a hat or sunglasses and can reflect themes or activities to make them even more personal and unique. Just like emojis, Genmoji can be added to messages inline or shared as a sticker or reaction in a tapback.¹

Take notes to the next level with the Image Wand

The Notes app gets new tools to make note-taking more visual and dynamic. With Image Wand in the Tools palette, users can quickly create images in their note, leveraging the written or visual context already captured in the note.

Image Wand transforms a rough sketch into a sophisticated image by simply circling. Users can even circle blank spaces within a note, and Image Wand captures context from the surrounding area – using on-device generative models to analyze the handwritten or typed text – to create a relevant image that complements the note and makes it more visual . Users can create images in Image Wand using the animation, illustration and an additional sketch style.

Describe changes in writing tools

The writing tools build on the existing Rewrite, Proofread, and Summarize options and provide users with the new ability to specify the change they want to make using the new Describe Your Change option. Describe Your Change gives users even more flexibility and control if they want to make their text sound more expressive, such as: B. by adding more dynamic action words to their resume or even rewriting a dinner party invitation in the form of a poem and much more. Just like all Writing Tools features, this new Describe Your Change option is available system-wide in Apple and many third-party apps.

Learn more about the environment with one click with Visual Intelligence

A new visual intelligence experience builds on Apple Intelligence to help users instantly learn about objects and places thanks to new camera controls on the iPhone 16 series. Visual intelligence can summarize and copy text, translate text between languages, recognize phone numbers or email addresses with the option to add to contacts, and more. Camera Control also allows users to search Google to see where they can purchase an item, or use ChatGPT’s problem-solving capabilities to request an explanation of a complex diagram, such as from course notes. Users have control over when third-party tools are used and what information is shared.

Use ChatGPT with Siri and writing tools

Apple enables ChatGPT access in Siri and Writing Tools experiences across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so users can access its expertise, image and document understanding capabilities without switching between applications. With the ChatGPT integration, Siri can suggest a user to access ChatGPT for specific requests, and Siri can provide the response directly.

Compose allows users to ask ChatGPT to generate content for whatever they write about from the system-wide writing tools. You can also use ChatGPT’s image generation features to add images alongside your written content.

Users can choose whether to enable the ChatGPT integration and have full control over when they use it and what information is shared with ChatGPT. By default, a ChatGPT account is not required to use this integration. If you use ChatGPT without an account, OpenAI does not store requests or use the data for model training. Additionally, users’ IP addresses are obfuscated to prevent their sessions from being linked. For those who choose to connect their account, OpenAI’s data usage policies apply.

Even more features are coming soon

Additional Apple Intelligence features will be available in the coming months. Siri will be even more powerful, with the ability to draw on a user’s personal context to deliver information tailored to them. Siri is also becoming more prominent on screen, with the ability to perform hundreds of new actions in and across Apple and third-party apps. Priority notifications also show what’s most important. Additionally, Image Playground allows users to create sketch-style images, an academic and highly detailed style that uses a vibrant color palette combined with technical lines to create realistic drawings.

A breakthrough for data protection in AI

Apple Intelligence is designed to protect user privacy every step of the way. It leverages on-device processing, meaning many of the models it is based on run entirely on-device. For requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends iPhone privacy and security to the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it will only be used to fulfill your request. Independent experts can and are already reviewing the code running on Apple Silicon servers to continually validate this privacy promise. This is an extraordinary advance for data protection in AI.

Availability

• Apple Intelligence is now available as a free software update with iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 and can be accessed in most regions of the world when the device and Siri language are set to localized English Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South AfricaThe United Kingdomor the US

• Mac users in the EU can access Apple Intelligence using a compatible device with supported settings and languages. In April this year, Apple Intelligence features will be made available to iPhone and iPad users in the EU. This includes many of Apple Intelligence’s core features, including writing tools, Genmoji, a redesigned Siri with better language understanding, ChatGPT integration, and more.

• Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later, and Mac with M1 and later.

About Apple
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms – iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS and tvOS – provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and enable people to enjoy groundbreaking services such as the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are committed to making the world’s best products and leaving the world better than we found it.

1. Genmoji Creation is available on iPhone and iPad and will also be available on Mac in the coming months.

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