Apple Intelligence's new features are imminent and actually really useful

Apple teaser image for October 2024 event

(Image credit: Apple)

By Britta O'Boyle

published 2 December 2024

in News

Quick Summary

Apple Intelligence will bring extra Writing Tools with iOS 18.2.

The software is due to be released this month, though an exact released date is currently unknown.

Artificial intelligence has been the main buzzword of this year when it comes to phones, tablets and even smartwatches, but while Google and Samsung have fully embraced AI with their respective offerings, we’re still waiting for Apple.

Apple announced Apple Intelligence back in June 2024 during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), but it’s not yet fully released on iPhone, iPad and Mac. When iOS 18.1 launched in September, a couple of Apple Intelligence features appeared but it’s iOS 18.2 that’s set to bring the real meat of Apple’s AI.

If you’re running the iOS 18.2 beta then you’ll already have access to some of the features coming, which includes an expansion of the Writing Tools.

In iOS 18.1, the Writing Tools offered a way to rewrite an email or document into a more ‘Professional’ or ‘Friendly’ tone, and it could also proofread and summarise text anywhere you’d find a cursor too.

But, with the next software update, ChatGPT gets baked into Siri, as 9to5Mac highlighted in a recent report, and that brings with it some extra tricks. Within the Writing Tools menu, you’ll see "Compose", which will enable Siri and ChatGPT to compose words from scratch. You still need to give guidance as to what you want to be written, but you won’t have to write the words yourself beyond the instruction.

Once ChatGPT has composed your copy, you can then refine it. You can either ask for an entire rewrite, or you can tap on the "Describe your change" for a customised AI rewrite.

Apple has said iOS 18.2 is due to be released to iPhone users in December, though the company hasn’t confirmed the exact date as yet. Along with the more advanced Writing Tools, iOS 18.2 is set to bring features like the Hearing Test for AirPods Pro 2 users.

You will need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or an iPhone 16 model to access Apple Intelligence features. Other features like the Hearing Test are available to any iPhone user running iOS 18.2 when it arrives, though you’ll of course need a pair of AirPods Pro 2 for that one.

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Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.