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Apple was pressured into giving people AI: Is iOS 18 a disaster waiting to happen?

By Martin Filipov

Published: Jul 14, 2024, 11:37 AM

22comments

This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

Apple was pressured into giving people AI: Is iOS 18 a disaster waiting to happen?

When I finished watching the latest WWDC, it was obvious Apple finally gave us a bunch of nice features we’ve been expecting to see on the iPhone for a long time.

However, I can’t help but feel like iOS 18 was missing this headlining feature that has everyone talking about it (for one reason or another). And when I say “headlining” feature, I don’t necessarily mean a feature Apple itself has chosen to promote more actively.

Going back to iOS 17, the fan-favorite new feature was probably StandBy mode, which turns your iPhone into a desk/bedside table clock - simple but practical.

And I know that’s not tied to any iOS version, but the launch of iPhone 14 Pro blew everyone away with the “Dynamic Island”, and the genius way Apple made the display hole feel like it’s a part of the iOS 16 experience. A prime example of the way Apple can use software to make something exciting no one else has done.

Did Apple copy Google and Samsung’s homework for iOS 18 without trying too hard?

You might/might not be able to Circle, but iOS 18 will let iPhone 15 Pro users Search whatever's on their screen.

So, while I do believe iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 certainly did enough to justify pushing the “update” button, they don’t necessarily feel exciting to me, and it might be because Apple isn’t breaking new ground this time around.

We saw features like:

Apple’s version of Google’s Writing Styles, called “Writing Tools”, which will rewrite, polish, proofread, and summarize text for you

The Image playground feature, which lets you generate images from prompts seems to yield out cartoonish images, perhaps because Apple doesn’t want them to be “too realistic” and used for “evil purposes”

Exception to the above makes the Image wand feature Apple briefly talked about. This one’s supposed to take a rough sketch (made by you) and turn it into a more usable image. For the record, Microsoft already introduced an identical feature as part of MS Paint on Windows laptops running CoPilot.

“Genmoji”, or the ability to make your own custom emojis, ranks very close to the “Animoji” and “Slofie” on my “silly iPhone features” list, so let’s leave it there…

Then, there’s “Clean up” - Apple’s version of Google’s Magic eraser, which is very much welcome on my iPhone, but again - nothing groundbreaking here

Although this one's rather subjective, I find the new Photos app to too busy-looking, and overall confusing; also, swiping through photos now feels unnecessarily animated (because it is) - let me know how you feel about it

All in all, iOS 18 seems to be missing that special “Apple sauce” - the moment where Apple does it “later but better”.

And apart from the deeper AI integration (more about that below), I didn’t see Tim Cook & Co put an interesting twist on any of the “AI” features the likes of Google, Samsung and even Microsoft have already introduced.

Not to mention the underwhelming home screen customization options, which seem to let you choose a universal tint for all of your icons, making third-party apps look questionable. There’s a new Dark mode for the home screen, which is super basic… Overall, it’s very unlike Apple to show lack of attention to detail, but here we are - at least in the iOS 18 beta.

The most impressive Apple Intelligence features not coming until 2025; some not coming to Europe until further notice; “Apple Intelligence” exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro

Apple Intelligence is exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro, and that's gotta be crime. Somewhere. But not in this universe.

And then we come to the Apple Intelligence part, which gave me a mixed bag of feelings.

For one, the big one here is the fact that only iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are getting the best, most advanced “Apple Intelligence” features.

I’ve already discussed this in greater length, but I’ll just say that despite Apple’s recent excuse for “underpowered iPhones, which wouldn’t run Apple Intelligence as fast as we’d like them to”, I still believe this was an intentional omission on Apple’s part.

In the end, Apple always knew phones like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 Pro would be expected to get the latest, best AI, but decided to give them only 6GB of RAM and Apple chips with less Neural engine cores a while ago.

Anyway… To give credit where it’s due, Apple did indeed do it “the Apple way” by implementing AI within the entire system experience rather than just select apps. This deserves praise as it’s quite exactly what could end up putting the iPhone ahead of the competition in the area of on-device AI.

However, out of the gate, several of the advanced features in iOS 18 will be delayed “until 2025”. Unsurprisingly, they are the most impressive ones:

Personal Context - Siri will be able to peek into your photos, emails, messages, calendar events, and more to help you out with more specific tasks - well, not until 2025

App Control - Whenever you need to open a document, move a file, or share a web link, Siri will be able to handle specific tasks within your apps - but not until 2025

Thanks to “On-screen Awareness” - Siri will be able to see what's on your screen and thus know exactly what you’re talking about when asking a specific question - pretty awesome but not coming until 2025

Additional Languages - for now, Siri only speaks American English, but don't worry - Apple says “more languages are coming in 2025”

It’s also worth noting that, at launch, Siri will only support American English, with other languages coming “sometime in 2025”. However, the cherry on top here is that the entire “Apple Intelligence” bag of tricks (as well as features like iPhone Mirroring) won’t be coming to Europe - at least until further notice, which is super disappointing for Europeans… like me (hello!).

Tim Cook & Co hate "rushing things out" but Apple felt pressured to give people “AI”: Could this result in a rough iOS 18 launch?

Spoiler - the launch of iOS 18 is already rough. Well, at least of the first few beta versions running on my iPhone 15 Pro Max.

In the end, apart from missing that “head-turning feature”, iOS 18 seems to be a bit rushed.

As I mentioned, the most powerful Apple Intelligence features aren’t even coming until 2025, which means the iPhone 15 Pro and the new iPhone 16 series will be running what’s essentially a “beta version” of Apple’s on-device AI.

Since it’s part of the depper Siri integration, it also remains to be seen whether ChatGPT will make it on time for the public release of iOS 18 and iPhone 16.

ChatGPT will play an important role in Apple’s version of Google’s awesome “Circle to Search” feature, which makes it possible to search whatever’s on your screen. And, of course, it will do all the other ChatGPT stuff you’d expect it to (at least when Siri can’t).

With the delayed launch of the best new AI features; iPhone 15 Pro exclusivity; questionable European availability, and a sprinkle of carelessness, I’m not totally sure iOS 18 will be Apple’s smoothest iOS launch to date.

It’s clear that Tim Cook & Co felt pressured to deliver “something” in the area of AI. But was Apple ready?

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.