Let’s figure out what Apple Intelligence is. Apple couldn’t explain it at the presentation

The other day I was once again asked to explain in simple terms what Apple Intelligence is, which will only work on the latest generation of iPhones.

Indeed, at the WWDC24 presentation, Apple dedicated the most “delicious” time, at the end of the story about new operations. Eventually Steve Jobs finished the presentation, implying one more thing, some important announcement of a new product, and we still watch the presentation from Cupertino with a secret hope for this feature.

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After all, this is how the iMac in colored cases, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, FaceTime, iTunes with the ability to buy tracks, and much more were presented.

And so, at the end of the summer event in 2024, they showed us Apple Intelligence. And not just showed us, they dedicated about 40 minutes to it, telling us how this thing will help us in our daily affairs.

So what is this Apple Intelligence? Is it artificial intelligence? Not quite, because it uses ChatGPT to process requests. Is it the new Siri? Also no, because the voice assistant is still there and exists separately from Apple Intelligence. Is it a souped-up Shortcuts app? Nope, wrong again.

And it seems to me that Apple itself doesn’t really understand what it has shown to the world.

Why Apple Intelligence Isn’t ‘One More Thing’

An example of using AI: iPhone tells you when mom is arriving.

Apple always presents new products very logically and clearly, which are divided into “hardware” and “software”. To have, what you’re new macbook. Or look, now you have a video call function between owners of Apple equipment.

But in the case of Apple Intelligence, this did not happen: in the first minutes we were told that this was a new word in the world of artificial intelligence, and then they began to describe some functions that do not quite fit with artificial intelligence.

With Apple Intelligence, you can create emoji! Okay, that’s a feature. You can ask Siri some questions, and connect Apple Intelligence, then ChatGPT will join in, which will give you the answer to the question. That is, Apple Intelligence acts as an intermediary between Siri and normal AI from a third-party company, OpenAI. And what’s the deal here? amazingWhy did Tim Cook say that they had been working towards this for 8 long years in Cupertino?

After reviewing the presentation several times, I found the answer to all these questions, so now I can simply and clearly not only tell you what the point of Apple Intelligence is, but also explain what it is in general.

What is Apple intelligence in simple words

All the possibilities of AI in one picture.

If you have any questions about what this AI thing is and whether you should immediately run to get a new iPhone because the old ones won’t have it, answer this way:

Apple Intelligence is a service based on neural networks. This is not a new feature, but a set of capabilities combined into a single platform called AI. This set includes interaction with text and images, analysis of actions compiled by a sampling device based on the results of this analysis, and the inclusion of a powerful external chatbot on an as-needed basis to perform complex queries..

Does this amount to something groundbreaking, innovative and cool? For me, no. Essentially, Apple just made a shell in which they shoved several functions successfully implemented in third-party applications from the App Store.

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Most importantly, Tim Cook and company failed to clearly explain the essence of Apple Intelligence, instead talking about specific examples of how this service works in different situations, which looked like a presentation of several more new features of iOS 18.

What’s the Problem with Apple’s Intelligence Logo

The Apple Intelligence logo, which doesn’t evoke any associations.

Another problem Apple had during the presentation of its AI platform was the logo. We have already become accustomed to the fact that the icon of one or another application most often displays the functionality of this application. For example, if it is a reader, then the icon depicts a book. For noteok is notepad, and as further. But how to depict artificial intelligence?

No one can answer this question, just look at the icons of all known neural networks, from Gemini to Copilot. They are all depicted as something abstract and necessarily in cheerful colors to win the user’s trust.

Neural network logos: Apple Siri, Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Apple Intelligence.

Against this background, the ChatGPT logo in the form of a black circle most closely matches the average person’s idea of ​​artificial intelligence: something incomprehensible, intangible, a bottomless well into which you throw a request. And what happens there and how it works is hidden under an impenetrable curtain.

And in this case, Apple did not invent anything new, drawing a circle with loops on a bright gradient background. What the author wanted to say with this logo is simply a mystery.

As a result, the Apple Intelligence presentation that everyone was waiting for became crumpled and unclear. There is no clear definition of what it is, no ideas, no visible visualization. There is a set of functions, like understanding who received an email, and this feature somehow does not make you want to immediately upgrade your iPhone to the latest one.

Russian, right now these are all my guesses, not supported by personal experience of interaction with AI. I hope that I will be proven wrong and in the fall, with the release of iOS 18, the experience of using my iPhone 15 Pro will change beyond recognition, will reach a new level and I will enthusiastically convince others that Apple Intelligence is a real revelation.

For now, it’s good that we managed to understand what it is.