AI features start rolling out to some iPhones

After a long wait, Apple has finally released its artificial intelligence (AI) tools for iPhone – to a select few.

Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI tools announced in June, became available Monday to owners of select iPhones globally.

It was available to people with eligible devices by updating to the latest version of Apple’s operating system for iPhone.

Those hoping to get Apple Intelligence should apply to join a waitlist to get it after updating to iOS 18.1.

According to Apple, users should be able to activate its suite of AI tools “within a few hours” of joining its waitlist, although it says wait times may differ.

New features include notification summaries, tools to help users compose messages, and a shiny new interface for virtual assistant Siri.

But they will only be available to people with the newest devices, including all iPhone 16 models and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

Apple Intelligence is also available on Mac computers and iPad tablets powered by its latest chips.

But some of the tools made available Monday arrived later than equivalent features on other popular devices.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the public release of its AI tools ushered in “a new era” for its products.

It comes after the company announced on Friday that it would reward ethical hackers who could demonstrate vulnerabilities in its AI software with a bounty of up to $1 million (£770,000).

The feature set released Monday in its iOS 18.1 update is the first wave of AI tools previously presented at Apple’s Summer Developers Conference.

Other features expected later this year include generating images and emojis from text prompts.

Google and Samsung have already introduced AI features on their devices.

These include allowing users to translate conversations in real time, automatically organize notes, and search for something online by drawing a circle around it.

While initially making its Galaxy AI features available on its latest handsets, Samsung has expanded them to include the S22 devices released in 2022.

The South Korean tech giant said in February it planned to introduce Galaxy AI to over 100 million users by 2024.

Apple’s new Clean Up tool, allowing users to remove unwanted objects or people from an image, also follows Google’s previous version. of a similar tool called Magic Eraser.

Mr. Cook told the Wall Street Journal in October that the company was “perfectly okay not to be the first,” adding that it was “taking a while to get it really great.”