If you’re like me and don’t have Apple Intelligence yet because you own an older Apple device, don’t fret. You can use other apps to recreate some of its initial features.
Released in October 2024, Apple Intelligence is a suite of generative AI tools built natively into the iPhone, iPad, MacBook and iMac, and accessible via the cloud on these devices. With the release of iOS 18.2 earlier this month, Apple Intelligence has message summaries, various writing tools and image creation like Image Playground and Genmoji. But you’ll have to be on a newer device to access these tools. For example, you need an iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max or iPhone 16 (any model) to use Apple Intelligence.
As a creator who focuses on introducing business professionals to various AI tools, I was bummed at first that Apple Intelligence requires a hardware upgrade. Then I realized some of its initial features can be replicated by learning your way around various other apps. Here are a few ways I’m doing that.
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AI-powered writing tools
Apple Intelligence integrates an AI writing assistant across all apps and devices, letting you access features such as spelling checks, tone adjustment, summarization, proofreading and smart replies. Two non-Apple tools can deliver similar results with just a few additional clicks.
Grammarly has been popular among consumers for quite some time now. The app offers spelling and grammar checks, style suggestions and tone adjustments. Many people don’t realize Grammarly also has an iOS keyboard extension, so you won’t have to leave your iMessage, Notes or email app to use it.
ChatGPT is another favorite when it comes to AI writing assistants. As a standalone iOS app, you can download it for free from the App Store, and iOS 18.2 gives the option to integrate ChatGPT with Siri. Now with GPT-4o, ChatGPT is faster, cheaper and produces higher-quality content than its predecessors. You can use ChatGPT to come up with ideas, as well as titles, outlines and even the entirety of the content you want to create.
Regardless of which AI app you use for writing assistance, make sure you review the content before sharing it with others. Human review and intervention are key to this process. Furthermore, if you ever choose to create and publish content entirely using AI, you should indicate it with a disclaimer.
AI for photos, image generation and custom emojis
Apple Intelligence’s AI can analyze photos from your library and quickly find the ones you’re looking for (i.e., “Katie with stickers on her face”). The new Image Playground and Genmoji features in iOS 18.2 let you generate custom images, sketches and emojis without third-party apps. (Note that these features won’t be supported in China or the EU as of this writing due to regulatory restrictions.)
Google Photos and Dropbox have similar AI features that automatically tag photos based on objects, locations, faces and events, allowing users to search for specific images without manually categorizing them. These features aren’t without their flaws, but they generally work well. Google Photos offers many of the same features touted in Apple Intelligence, and I’ve been a loyal user for over six years.
Google Photos automatically recognizes different people using facial recognition, allowing you to easily access all the photos and videos of a certain person. When in doubt, Google Photos will occasionally ask you to manually identify people.
There’s also the “most relevant to your search” feature, which allows you to enter a search term, then see results displayed based on relevance rather than date. For example, when I searched in Google Photos for a specific element like “red scarf,” here were the results.
To get started, Google Photos recommends that you try searching for phrases or ideas, such as:
- “colorful sunset”
- “peaceful garden”
- “Cinderella”
Or, use names of friends and family you’ve added under People, like:
- “Charlie at the Golden Gate Bridge”
- “Alice and Bob at the beach”
Dropbox offers a solid alternative to Google Photos. But it’s important to note that this AI-powered image search (as a feature) is only available to Dropbox Plus, Family, Professional, Standard, Business, Advanced, Business Plus and Enterprise customers.
You can search for any element or feature represented in the photos. For example, here are the results returned from my Dropbox account when I searched “restaurant.”
If there are too many results or file types mixed in, you can use Dropbox’s built-in filters to narrow them down, filtering by images, videos, PDFs, documents, dates taken and even image dimensions.
The downside of Dropbox photos is that people in these photos are not tagged automatically using facial recognition, so you won’t be able to easily search for photos of a particular person the same way you can in Google Photos.
Notification prioritization
Apple Intelligence leverages AI to analyze your text messages, calendar invites, notes and photos, prioritizing and summarizing notifications to save you time and minimize interruptions. So far, consumers haven’t been wowed.
To streamline your notifications, consider first removing apps you no longer need on your phone. Then, take advantage of a few built-in iOS features. I love using Focus modes, which allow me to create different profiles (Do Not Disturb, Work, Sleep, Personal) to control the notifications I receive based on the time of day and context. You can create custom Focus modes to allow notifications to come from specific apps or people, or automate them based on time and location.
Apple’s built-in notification features (without Apple Intelligence) are useful and sufficient in most cases. I recommend going through the settings for each of your apps (Go to Settings > Notifications) and deciding which ones need to have notifications turned on. Some apps, such as home security apps, also have the option to turn on Critical Alerts, which will deliver notifications with sound immediately, regardless of settings.
You can start using AI now
Given that Apple Intelligence is still new, it may be wise to hold off on a significant investment in a new device. Apple Intelligence features will most likely improve over time, but until then, you can still start using AI in your day-to-day life without the fancy upgrades.
Find me on YouTube to discover more AI tools that can help you in your everyday online life.
Opinions expressed by CNET Voices contributors are their own.
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