What Apple Intelligence Can Do and the Price of Having It

Apple Intelligence includes numerous features users might find helpful in daily life. 

But it comes with a cost: Unlike Artificial Intelligence, this AI focuses on privacy through on-device processing instead of the cloud and because of that priority, Apple Intelligence uses large amounts of storage. (Apple Intelligence, introduced in late 2024, is, as the name suggests, Apple’s answer to Artificial Intelligence.)

And it will continue to grow.

When it was first introduced, Apple Intelligence took about 4 gigabytes of storage and now it is up to 7 gigabytes. And that total is expected to increase again in the future.

Below are some of those features, but again it is vital users understand the amount of storage necessary before activating the service because the space cannot be reclaimed by simply deactivating it.

But if a user does not enable Apple Intelligence, the space will not be reserved. 

The first step to utilize the service is to go to Settings and, after scrolling down to Apple Intelligence and Siri, slide the Apple Intelligence toggle switch to the right. Once it is activated, the user will need to add apps in some cases to take advantage of all the benefits. 

Once Apple Intelligence is up and running, here are some of the features:

Whether the user is drafting a professional email or a casual text, Apple Intelligence acts as a sophisticated co-writer. The user would need to select “Writing Tools” and choose from a variety of options: 

• Rewrite and Proofread: It can adjust the writer’s tone (from “professional” to “concise” or “friendly”) and fix complex grammatical errors. When in the Notes app, click on the AI icon and the options will appear. For emails, the user should click on the message, select the copy he or she wants summarized, select “Writing Tools” and then the relevant command. 
• Summarization: Apple Intelligence can highlight a long article or document and turn it into a digestible paragraph, a list of key points or even a table. For emails, the user should click on the message, select the copy he or she wants summarized, select “Writing Tools” and “Summarize.” 

2. A Truly “Intelligent” Siri

Siri has moved beyond simple voice commands. It is more of a system-wide interface than a standalone feature.

• On-Screen Awareness: If friends text users an address, the users can simply say, “Add this to my contact card,” and Siri understands what “this” refers to based on what is on the screen.
• Cross-App Actions: Siri can now perform complex tasks across apps, such as “Find that photo of the sunset from last week and send it to Mom.”

Apple has turned the camera and the photo gallery into a powerful search and creation engine.

• Clean Up: In the Photos app, a user can circle an unwanted object or person and Apple Intelligence will remove it while seamlessly recreating the background. In the Photos app, go to the editing tool and click on “Clean Up.” 
• Genmoji and Image Playground: If users cannot find the right emojis, they can type a description like “T-Rex on a surfboard wearing a tutu” to generate a custom Genmoji instantly. To utilize this feature, go to the App Store and select Image Playground app. Once installed, the customization should be available.
• Visual Search: By simply pointing the camera at a restaurant or a flyer, the device can identify the business, show reviews or automatically add an event to the calendar.

Apple Intelligence is designed to reduce the “noise” of modern digital life.

• Priority Notifications: Instead of a long list of alerts, the device uses Apple Intelligence to find the most urgent messages — like a change in flight time — while summarizing long group chats so the user can catch up in seconds. This is done through the Focus mode on the iPhone. 
• Live Translation: This feature now works in real-time across FaceTime and Phone calls, providing instant voice and text translations to break down language barriers. Highlight text to be translated, click on “Writing Tools” and select “Translate.”