What You Can Do with the December Wave of Apple Intelligence Features in iOS 18.2
What You Can Do with the December Wave of Apple Intelligence Features
The first set of Apple Intelligence features arrived in macOS, iOS, and iPadOS back in October. Now, Apple has released a second wave with the December updates to macOS 15.2 Sequoia, iOS 18.2, and iPadOS 18.2. While Apple still labels these features as “beta”—a tech term meaning they’re still being polished—they usually work well enough to be fun and useful.
Before diving in, remember these features only work on newer devices: Macs with Apple silicon, iPads with A17 Pro or M-series chips, and iPhones 15 Pro or newer. Older devices don't have enough memory. And it's only available on devices set to most English dialects (more languages coming in April). To enable Apple Intelligence, go to System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri on a Mac or Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri on an iPhone or iPad.
Let’s explore what these updates bring!
Create Amusing Images with Image Playground
Image Playground is Apple’s first step into AI-powered image generation. This app lets you create fun images by typing a description or starting from a photo. Choose between two styles:
- Animation: A modern 3D animated look.
- Illustration: Simple shapes, bold lines, and vibrant colors.
A third Sketch style may be coming in a future update. You can also use Image Playground within apps like Messages, Freeform, and Keynote.
To get started, type a description or select a photo, then customize your image with themes, costumes, or accessories. Swipe left to see different versions of the image, and tap the ••• button to save or share your creation. Saved images sync across all your Apple devices.
Add Personality to Chats with Genmoji
Genmoji lets you design custom emoji based on text descriptions. For example, you could create an emoji of two cellos wearing scarves to share with a fellow musician. While it might initially seem lighthearted, the heavy use of emoji in modern communication makes Genmoji a surprisingly practical and engaging feature.
To create a Genmoji:
- Switch to the emoji keyboard.
- Tap the Genmoji button (next to the search bar).
- Describe your emoji idea.
Swipe left to see more variations, and tap your favorite to insert it into a chat. Created Genmoji are stored with your other stickers and sync across your devices. While Genmoji isn’t available on Mac yet, this feature is coming soon in macOS 15.3.
Clean Up Your Apple Pencil Sketches with Image Wand
In iPadOS 18.2, the Notes app introduces Image Wand, a tool powered by Apple Intelligence. If you make a rough sketch with an Apple Pencil, Image Wand can tidy it up for you. Simply draw a circle around your sketch, and the tool will transform it into a polished image. It even considers any text inside the circle to refine the result.
Understand the World with Visual Intelligence
On iPhone 16 models, Visual Intelligence is a new feature tied to the Camera app. Press and hold the Camera Control button to activate it, revealing two options:
- Ask: ChatGPT describes the image and answers follow-up questions. For example, ask, "What is this device?" or "Can you find the manual for this TV?" or "How many calories are in this?" or "How can I fix this?"
- Search: Performs a Google reverse image search, with tappable results.
If the buttons don’t appear immediately, press the Camera Control button again or tap the shutter button to pause the image.
Use ChatGPT with Siri
One of the most exciting updates is Siri’s integration with ChatGPT. While it’s not perfect, it adds a new dimension to Siri’s capabilities. To activate it, go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT and enable the feature. Turning off “Confirm ChatGPT requests” can make the process smoother. If you sign into your ChatGPT account you'll have access to the more advanced paid models. But you are fine to use ChatGPT anonymously without signing in.
Siri will usually pass along anything that it can't answer. But for best results, start your Siri command with “Ask ChatGPT…” However, Siri’s implementation is not as fluid as using OpenAI’s ChatGPT app directly. Still, it’s a convenient option for quick queries. One incredibly useful feature is that Siri can take a screenshot and send it to ChatGPT if you ask something like "Can you explain what is on my screen?" or "Can you explain this article to me?" (be sure to switch from a screenshot to "Full Content" before sending your request).
Enhance Your Writing with ChatGPT in Writing Tools
Apple Intelligence integrates ChatGPT into its Writing Tools for enhanced creativity. This feature helps generate text, rewrite content, or even get creative by rewriting your text as a haiku, iambic pentameter, or whatever else you can imagine. To use it on Mac, select text and from the Edit menu choose Writing Tools > Show Writing Tools. Some apps like Pages, Mail, and Mimestream have a Writing Tools button in the toolbar. To use it on iPhone or iPad, select some text and choose the icon that looks like a pen in a braided circle from the keyboard bar, or from the popup menu find Writing Tools (you may need to tap the right arrow several times to browse all options).
From there, choose Compose and describe what you want ChatGPT to create, or choose from the rewriting or proofreading options. If the result isn’t quite right, refine your request until it’s perfect.
Looking Ahead
While this December wave of Apple Intelligence features delivers some exciting tools, there’s more to come in 2025. Planned updates include:
- Smarter Siri: (in April?) Contextual awareness of your email, messages, and photos, plus hundreds of new actions.
- Priority Notifications: Automatically highlights your most important alerts.
Apple promises continued improvements to these features. While they may not compete with ChatGPT or Claude, it can be really handy having some AI integration in your phone.
(Featured image by Apple)