Apple releases first set of Apple Intelligence features, introduces new iMac

Apple Inc. Today made more than half a dozen Apple Intelligence features generally available on recent iPhones, iPads and Macs.

The company also released a revamped version of the iMac desktop, which combines a computer with a monitor. The machine includes the M4, a new chip with an AI accelerator that is described as three times faster than Apple’s 2020 silicon.

Embedded AI

Apple Intelligence is a collection of AI features first introduced by the iPhone maker detailed At the WWDC developer event in June. Some of the capabilities will be built into the company’s operating systems, while others will be available through apps. Behind the scenes, Apple Intelligence is powered by a mix of on-device and cloud-hosted neural networks.

Most of the AI ​​features available today focus on text processing tasks.

On supported devices, consumers can now have Apple Intelligence summarize their notifications and emails. Email summaries appear in the inbox section of the Mail app, which Apple pre-installs on its devices. The app is also getting the second new AI feature, Priority Messages, which automatically identifies important messages and pushes them to the top of the list.

A second set of text processing upgrades is available through a new feature called Authoring Tools. It can summarize many types of text, not just notifications and emails, as well as summarize prose in other ways. Users can have this feature extract key points from a document and convert it into a list or spreadsheet table.

This ability is also suitable for some other tasks. Apple says users can use Writing Tools to automatically rewrite text in three styles: professional, friendly, or concise.

More Apple Intelligence features will be available in the company’s Photos app and Siri. The AI ​​assistant is being upgraded with a new interface and a feature that allows the user to answer technical questions about their device. The Photos app now includes an AI tool called Clean Up, which provides the ability to quickly remove objects from images.

Apple plans to introduce a second group of artificial intelligence features that will allow Apple Intelligence to take on more tasks in the future. One capability in the works would allow users to take a photo of an object, such as a street sign, and have an AI model create a description. Another upcoming feature, OpenAI’s ChatGPT integration, will enable Siri to answer more complex questions than it can currently handle.

iMac with M4 support

AI was also Apple’s focus during the development of its latest iMac, which debuts today with the launch of Apple Intelligence. The new desktop is powered by the company’s recently introduced M4 processor. It’s a system-on-chip based on a three-nanometer node that started shipping with the latest iPad Pro last May.

Like Apple’s previous M-series chips, the M4 includes a Neural Engine optimized for AI workloads. The company says the accelerator pedal is three times faster than the accelerator pedal on the first-generation M1, which was introduced four years ago. The M4 also includes a graphics processing unit, as well as a central processing unit with a core design that Apple describes as the fastest in its category.

The entry-level iMac has a 24-inch 4.5K display with a 12-megapixel camera. High-end configurations offer a version of the screen made of nano-textured glass that promises to reduce reflections and glare. Customers can customize other hardware details, too: Apple offers the iMac with 16 to 32 gigabytes of flash memory, as well as up to four Thunderbolt ports.

Image: Apple