Six Colors:
On Wednesday, Apple rolled out developer betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2, which run Apple Intelligence features previously seen only in Apple’s own marketing materials and product announcements: Three different kinds of image generation, ChatGPT support, Visual Intelligence, expanded English language support, and Writing Tools prompts.
[…]
It’s still English-only for now, but English speakers in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa will be able to use Apple Intelligence in their versions of English.
Juli Clover:
Apple introduced an updated version of the Mail app with built-in categorization.
I still don’t see the categories feature in the Mac version of Mail, although there are some invisible menu commands that show up when searching with the Help menu.
From a SpamSieve perspective, I note that Mail’s data store is still at version 10 but that the schema has changed from both macOS 14 and from macOS 15.0 (in seemingly backwards compatible ways).
John Gruber:
These developer betas also contain new APIs for third-party apps: the Writing Tools API (which will allow any text app to support the features only Apple’s first-party apps have access to in iOS 18.1 and MacOS 15.1), Genmoji API (so third-party messaging apps can support them like Messages will), and Image Playground API.
Howard Oakley:
Apple reassured us that “if you’re using any of the standard UI frameworks to render text fields, your app will automatically get the ability to use Writing Tools.” But that appears to make the assumption that the text view is already using TextKit 2, and the only documentation that I can find about that states that NSTextViews need to be opted into that with additional code. However, the class documentation for NSTextView doesn’t even mention TextKit 2, although it does now include some information about support for Writing Tools.
See also: Marcin Krzyzanowski.
M.G. Siegler:
One more thing: also baked into iOS 18.2 is the ability to set default apps for Mail, Browser, Messages, etc. This isn't just for EU users, but for everyone.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-29): John Gruber:
The image generation features (Image Playground, Genmoji, Image Wand) in the next round of Apple Intelligence, in the beta releases of iOS 18.2 and MacOS 15.2 that dropped last week, require a separate waiting list. I signed up for that a few hours after the betas were released last Wednesday, October 23, and I’m still waiting as I type this. The only people I know who have access to the image generation features are those who signed up for it within the first hour — maybe less — of the betas appearing.
Update (2024-11-05): Tyler Fox:
New in iOS 18.2 developer beta 2!
Apps can integrate with Siri and Apple Intelligence so users can ask questions about onscreen content, such as photos and documents. You can adopt the API from SwiftUI, UIKit, and/or AppKit — see details & sample code.
Update (2024-11-08): Juli Clover:
The version of Image Playground available in the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 betas only offers animation and illustration as style options, leaving us wondering if sketch might be added a later time.
It looks like the answer might be no, as Apple has removed Sketch from the Image Playground app description.
App Intents Apple Intelligence Apple Mail Artificial Intelligence ChatGPT Genmoji Image Playground iOS iOS 18 Mac macOS 15 Sequoia Writing Tools
Joanna Stern:
Apple will launch iOS 18.1 next week, bringing its much anticipated generative-AI tools to the iPhone 15 Pro models and the new iPhone 16 lineup. It will be available for most newer iPads and Macs, too.
If you’re expecting AI fireworks, prepare for AI…sparklers. Back in June, at the company’s annual developers conference, executives showed off do-it-yourself emojis, ChatGPT integration and a Siri that can recall the name of a person you met months ago. Apple has even been running ads for some features. None are in this release.
[…]
I’ve been testing Apple Intelligence on my iPhone and iPad. Apple’s ability to build tools right into the operating systems is undeniably powerful and convenient. But many are half-baked. I asked Federighi to explain the features—and Apple’s broader AI strategy.
John Gruber:
It’s a very good interview, and also available on YouTube.
[…]
But as Stern herself points out in the article, the features that are shipping are genuinely useful. Notification summaries are good — the occasional mistakes can be funny, but overall it’s solid, and especially helpful for batches of notification from the same app or group text. The Clean Up unwanted-object-remover in Photos is great.
M.G. Siegler:
The first version of Apple Intelligence, which has been in beta testing for a few months now and is rolling out broadly next week, is pretty underwhelming. There’s just not much there. Not a lot beyond perhaps notification summaries that you’re going to be using all the time.
Tim Hardwick:
The most significant Siri enhancements are scheduled for iOS 18.4 around March 2025. These include onscreen awareness for contextual commands, personal context for better understanding of user data, and expanded app control capabilities. Initially, Apple Intelligence will only support U.S. English, with additional languages planned for next year.
Om Malik:
If my memory serves me correctly, it’s roughly the same number Apple shared during the WWDC keynote. So, essentially flat. While 1.5 billion might appear big, when it comes to internet scale, it isn’t such a large number for a company the size of Apple. I looked up the number of active Apple devices. That number is estimated to be 2.2 billion devices — I assume this includes phones, computers, watches, headphones, TV-streaming devices, and speakers. So 1.5 billion requests a day is actually far less than one daily request per active device.
Howard Oakley:
Writing Tools don’t themselves generate new content in text, but use the original text to produce derivatives. I’m particularly looking forward to using its proofreading feature, which can suggest improvements that I can choose to ignore, or adapt to my own style, as I wish.
Adam Engst:
I’ve relied on Grammarly for years for proofreading. It catches typos, doubled words, and extra spaces, and its newer AI-powered features sometimes make helpful suggestions for recasting awkward sentences. I’m slightly annoyed that Grammarly’s proofreading tools are so helpful, but it’s challenging to edit your own text to a professional level, and Grammarly can identify errors much faster than I can. Don’t assume that tools like Apple Intelligence’s proofreading capabilities for helping with grammar, word choice, and sentence structure are necessarily a crutch. They may be for some people, but even people who care about their writing can still benefit from some suggestions while ignoring unhelpful ones.
Ben Lovejoy:
AI suggested a total of six changes to my piece, of which three were duplicates – adding periods to bullet-point text.
[…]
Overall, though, a really excellent job.
John Gruber:
I am very likely underselling how valuable the new writing tools might prove to people trying to write in a second language, or who simply aren’t capable of expressing themselves well in their first language.
Juli Clover:
This guide goes over everything you can do with Writing Tools, where you can use them, and what you need to access the feature.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-28): Apple (Hacker News):
Apple today announced the first set of Apple Intelligence features for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users is now available through a free software update with the release of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1. Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that harnesses the power of Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks while taking an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI. Today marks the availability of the first set of features, with many more rolling out in the coming months.
Six Colors:
It’s unquestionable that Apple is putting its weight behind these efforts, but what’s been less clear is just how effective and useful these tools will be. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for anybody who has used similar generative AI tools, the answer is a definite maybe.
[…]
Despite Apple’s marketing of a new and improved Siri, the voice assistant hasn’t changed that much with this first set of Apple Intelligence capabilities. The most obvious “new feature” is actually a new look: on iOS and iPadOS, instead of the little glowing orb that used to indicate Siri had been activated, you’ll now see a colorful wash over the entire screen, accompanied by a “ripple” effect.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-30): Kirk McElhearn:
These writing tools could be useful for non-native speakers or people with limited writing skills. But for any serious writing, they are limited and problematic. Someone in a hurry may accept rewrites without checking and later discover that their text has been corrupted, their style flattened, and their message obfuscated.
iA:
Apple’s Intelligence misses a crucial step in the process. Writing Tools will simply replace your original text. If you can’t see the edits. The more you use it, the more you risk losing control over what you wrote.
Update (2024-10-31): Joe Rosensteel:
- Clean Up (YIKES)
- Pixelmator (yuck)
- Retouch (ok, and what I used originally)
- Lightroom (many removal options that all seem viable)
Apple Intelligence Artificial Intelligence iOS iOS 18 Mac macOS 15 Sequoia Notification Center Photos.app Siri Writing Tools
Adam Engst (Hacker News, MacRumors Forum):
Sad news. The longstanding email client Postbox has been acquired and shut down by eM Client, described by the announcement as “a leading email platform for Windows and macOS that combines email, calendars, tasks, contacts, notes, and chat into a single, easy-to-use application.”
[…]
On the other side of the equation, I’ve never heard of any Mac users relying on eM Client, despite its cross-platform status. I was going to say that I’d never heard of it at all, but searching my email reveals that I tested it briefly in February 2022. I suspect it’s a Windows app that has been clumsily ported to macOS. (Ironically, I was just encouraged by a PR person to look at Mailbird, another Windows email client that just released a version that runs on the Mac but bears little resemblance to a true Mac app.) eM Client gained iOS and Android clients only this year.
There’s a migration guide. I know that eM Client has some dedicated fans, and I’ve received requests over the years for SpamSieve to work with it. Unfortunately, eM Client does not support plug-ins or have any meaningful AppleScript support. Some customers are running Apple Mail in the background to filter their mail with SpamSieve. They can correct any mistakes from within eM Client by moving messages to special TrainSpam and TrainGood mailboxes. I’m open to working with eM Client if they would like to add direct integration.
Ric Ford:
Postbox was based on Mozilla’s cross-platform, open-source code Thunderbird email app, which does provide native Apple Silicon code, along with timely development and updates, security fixes, and additional features, including calendars.
Acquisition E-mail Client eM Client Mac Mac App macOS 15 Sequoia Postbox SpamSieve Sunset
