Apple's Push for User Adoption of Apple Intelligence Intensifies

Apple is making significant efforts to encourage users to engage with its artificial intelligence system, Apple Intelligence, despite its limitations. With the recent release of iOS 18.3.1, the company has automatically reactivated the AI system for users who had previously disabled it, although this feature is not consistent across all devices.

The upcoming iOS 18.4 update will enhance the integration of Apple Intelligence within the operating system. Notably, for the first time, users will find icons in the Control Center that provide quick access to key functionalities of the AI system. Presently, Apple Intelligence is available only in English, but a German version is expected to launch in April.

One of the main concerns surrounding Apple Intelligence is its storage requirements. Users may find that the AI system occupies a substantial amount of space--reportedly a minimum of 4 GB. Once activated, there is no option to disable storage downloads associated with the AI system, as the language models and image generators are integral to the operating system.

With the second beta of iOS 18.4, three key functions of Apple Intelligence can now be accessed directly from the Control Center: 'Talk to Siri' allows users to ask questions verbally, while 'Type to Siri' permits users to input queries via text. Additionally, the 'Visual Intelligence' feature enables users to take photographs for AI analysis, leveraging assistance from Google to enhance its capabilities.

The introduction of Visual Intelligence is particularly noteworthy as it will now extend support to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models. Initially, this feature was restricted to the upcoming iPhone 16 models due to its integration with the Camera Control button. However, it has now been adapted for earlier models, making it accessible to a broader range of devices.

Visual Intelligence offers a variety of functions, including text translation from photographs, text-to-speech capabilities, and the ability to search for and identify objects using Google or even ChatGPT. This feature will be available on all Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones, including all five models in the iPhone 16 series and the two Pro models from the iPhone 15 series.