What is Apple Intelligence?

Apple Intelligence is Apple's AI system, built into iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It can rewrite or summarize text, generate emoji-style images, organize your photos, take smart notifications, and clean up photos. Most processing happens on your device, with some queries sent to Apple's Private Cloud. For more complex questions, it can hand off to ChatGPT (with your permission).

Which iPhones support Apple Intelligence?

iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models, and iPhone 17 models. Older iPhones do not have enough processing power. For iPad: M1 or newer chip. For Mac: M1 or newer chip. If your iPhone or iPad is from before 2023 or your Mac is Intel-based, Apple Intelligence will not work.

Is Apple Intelligence free?

Yes, completely free. There is no Apple Intelligence subscription. You only need a supported device and an updated operating system (iOS 18.1 or later, macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later). The ChatGPT handoff is also free for basic use; if you have ChatGPT Plus you can link your account for higher limits.

Apple Intelligence guide: what it does on iPhone and Mac

By Isaac Farris·Updated May 27, 2026·6 minute read

Apple Intelligence is Apple's AI, baked into iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It does not look like a chatbot. Instead, it shows up as new buttons inside Mail, Messages, Notes, and the photo apps. If you have a recent enough device, you may already have it without knowing.

Does my device support it?

iPhone: 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, all 16 models, all 17 models. Earlier iPhones do not work.
iPad: any iPad with M1 chip or newer.
Mac: any Mac with Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4). Intel Macs do not work.
OS: needs iOS 18.1+, iPadOS 18.1+, or macOS Sequoia 15.1+.

What Apple Intelligence actually does

Writing Tools (the most useful one)

Highlight any text on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. A "Writing Tools" option appears. Pick one of:

Proofread: fixes spelling and grammar.
Rewrite: tries different phrasings.
Friendly / Professional / Concise: changes tone.
Summary: shorter version.
Key Points: bullet list of main ideas.
List: turns paragraph into a list.
Table: tries to put data in a table.

This works in Mail, Messages, Notes, Pages, and most apps that handle text. Some users find this the most useful Apple Intelligence feature.

Image Playground

Generate images in a cartoon, illustration, or sketch style. Tap the Image Playground app (or the image icon in Notes / Messages). Type a description. Get a stylized image. Not as flexible as ChatGPT or Gemini image generation, but fun for messages and notes.

Genmoji

Make custom emoji. Type "Genmoji of a dog wearing sunglasses" and you get a usable emoji to send in Messages. Limited to cartoony style. Fun.

Smart photo features

Clean Up: in Photos app, tap Edit > Clean Up. Tap or circle an unwanted object (a person walking through your shot, a power line). It disappears. Similar to Google's Magic Eraser.
Search by description: in Photos, search "dog at the beach in 2023" and get matching photos even if you never tagged them.
Memory movies: say "make a movie about my grandkids" and Photos generates a video with music.

Mail and Messages summaries

Long email previews show a summary instead of just the first line.
Group chat messages with many unread replies show a summary of what was discussed.
Priority Messages appear at the top of your inbox.

Notifications summary

iPhone groups notifications from chatty apps and summarizes them. Instead of 7 individual texts you missed, you see one summary. Useful for group chats. Sometimes hilarious for news app summaries.

Siri (improved, slowly)

Siri has been upgraded with Apple Intelligence. New abilities:

Type to Siri (double tap bottom of screen, type instead of speaking)
Smarter understanding when you misspeak or trip over words
Knowledge of what is on your screen
Hand off complex questions to ChatGPT (with permission)

Honest take: the new Siri is better but still not as conversational as ChatGPT or Gemini voice mode. Apple is still rolling out improvements.

ChatGPT handoff

For questions Siri cannot handle, Siri can pass them to ChatGPT. Free, no account required, anonymous by default. If you have a ChatGPT account you can link it for higher limits.

You will see a prompt: "Use ChatGPT?" Tap Yes to send the question.

How to turn Apple Intelligence on

Make sure your device is supported (see top of article).
Update to the latest iOS / iPadOS / macOS.
Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.
Tap Get Apple Intelligence.
Your device downloads the AI models (several GB). This takes anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours depending on connection. Plug in while it downloads.
Once ready, features start appearing in Mail, Messages, Notes, Photos automatically.

How to turn Apple Intelligence off

Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.
Toggle off Apple Intelligence.
Notifications summary, writing tools, and other features stop appearing.
You can also turn off specific parts (Notification Summaries, ChatGPT handoff, etc.) individually.

How to set up ChatGPT in Siri

Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT.
Toggle on Use ChatGPT.
Choose: stay anonymous (default) or sign in with OpenAI account for higher limits.
Toggle Confirm ChatGPT Requests on if you want a prompt each time, off if you want automatic handoff.

Privacy

Apple Intelligence is built around on-device processing. Most requests never leave your phone. For harder requests, Apple uses Private Cloud Compute (servers that Apple promises do not store or train on your data). For ChatGPT handoffs, OpenAI receives the request but Apple's setup means it is anonymous by default unless you sign in.

This is the most privacy-friendly major AI system available, especially compared to ChatGPT and Gemini's defaults. See our AI privacy guide for context.

Apple Intelligence vs ChatGPT vs Gemini

	Best for
Apple Intelligence	iPhone / iPad / Mac native tasks. Privacy. Simple writing edits.
ChatGPT	Anything more conversational, image generation, voice chat, broader tasks.
Gemini	Gmail / Calendar / Drive integration. Strong web search.
Claude	Long documents, careful writing.

Apple Intelligence is not trying to replace ChatGPT. It is the convenient option for quick text and photo tasks inside Apple apps.

5 things to try first

Write an email, highlight the body, tap Writing Tools > Friendly. See what changes.
Open Photos. Search for "dog at beach" or "sunset" and see what comes up.
Take a photo with a stranger walking through it. Edit > Clean Up > circle the stranger.
Ask Siri something complicated like "Help me plan a dinner using chicken, rice, and broccoli." It hands off to ChatGPT.
Try Genmoji: in Messages, tap the emoji button > Genmoji icon > describe an emoji.

Common questions

"Get Apple Intelligence" is missing from my Settings

Your device is not supported, or you need to update. iPhone 14 and earlier do not support Apple Intelligence. iPhone 15 (non-Pro) also does not. Intel Macs do not. Check requirements at the top.

The download is taking forever

Models are several GB. Stay on Wi-Fi, plug in, and let the phone sit. Overnight is fine.

Writing Tools is not showing up

Make sure Apple Intelligence is on. Restart your device. Try in a different app (Notes is most reliable).

Notification summaries are wrong or weird

Common complaint. Some news app summaries have made up facts or misinterpreted messages. Turn off Notification Summary for specific apps: Settings > Notifications > tap the app > turn off Summaries.

Video walkthrough

Video by DHTV on YouTube

Just got a new iPhone?

Setting up Apple Intelligence and learning what it does is a great use of an hour. Isaac can sit with you and walk through what makes sense for you.

Get in touch Email Isaac

☕

Helped you out?

Tips keep these guides free.

Buy me a coffee