Apple Intelligence is a Dud

A Review

So, I don’t usually install beta software on my phone since I need it to act consistently for work, but with all the hype around AI, I was too curious so I installed iOS 18.1 when it became available which includes Apple’s on-device AI called Apple Intelligence. Not that I didn’t bother with the beta of 18.0 as I think it’s a fairly useless upgrade (more on that in a bit).

So I’ve had Apple Intelligence for about a month now and I have to say I’m not impressed. I’m not even sure where to start.

For one thing, unless you actively decide to use it, you never really see it. The writing tools are probably the coolest feature and where LLMs shine, except I barely write anything of length on my phone so I think I used it once and then never again. Photos also uses AI to create videos except it’s indistinguishable from the previous feature already available on the device except maybe you can get a little more specific in your request. Sure, Siri seems a little more helpful, but at least for me, I never use it beyond occasionally setting a timer when my hands are busy elsewhere. Sadly, the photo editing abilities that were just released like removing items from a photo do a pretty poor job. Google’s AI that is cloud based on its Pixel lineup does significantly better in this task.

One feature you can opt into and do see is notification summaries (if you get multiple notifications from an app, it will summarize them). I was looking forward to this feature as I have far too many notifications despite almost never opting into them (Uber, I don’t need to be reminded I am being dropped off on a bike path on every damn ride). But the summaries really don’t have enough text length to effectively give useful context and it shows. I frequently have to expand the notifications to really figure out what is going on. Maybe receiving multiple texts from the same person does it work okay.

And that’s about it. It hasn’t changed how I use my phone in the slightest. As for the rest of iOS 18, it’s a fairly useless upgrade as well. The new Home Screen icon colors are hideous and while I’d sure like to have nicely arranged icons, I use so many apps in any given day (I have maybe 50 in folders on my main screen) that the idea of figuring out which to prioritize and relearn muscle memory that is 5+ years deep (I can get to almost any app I want with my eyes closed) just to have a good looking home screen seems ludicrous. Perhaps the only feature I find useful is scheduling texts to send in the future which I use to send cute notes to my fiancee if I know she’ll wake up before me.

So, again, there is nothing new in iOS 18 that moves the world of smartphones forward. Just gimmicks. Honestly, I’ve been increasingly enjoying my Samsung Galaxy Tab Ultra which feels like a more advanced device than my iPhone these days. I’m not counting on anything interesting in this year’s iPhone 16 announcement either, although I will probably still upgrade since with my plan it’s free and my battery on my 10 month old iPhone 15 is already degraded to 91% capacity, which is also ridiculous. Has fast fashion come to smartphones?

I continue to be disappointed in the so called innovation in the smartphone space, especially with Apple. They seem very content while Samsung keeps pushing boundaries. I can foresee iOS/iPhone losing market share if they continue to sit on their hands which would decimate Apple’s stock.

So if you were hoping AI would somehow revolutionize your iPhone experience, I’m sorry to disappoint. But then again, almost nothing new has come to the OS in years. Shame.

PS: I do want to give a shout out to the Dynamic Island and Live Notifications. A few years after they started on the iPhone 14, they are really shining. I love being able to see where my Uber or Instacart orders are at a glance, even when I’m actively using the phone. The Island feels like an essential feature of the phone for me now and kudos to Apple for figuring out how to have useful widgets on the Lock Screen without us actually having to select them. It’s a fantastic compromise that keeps information I need close at hand.