![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techtendency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IP16_3-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSiri\u2019s usefulness remains hit or miss. I appreciate being able to communicate more naturally and type to it when needed, but there have been times when Siri didn\u2019t have an answer and just displayed Google Search results. In the future, Siri is expected to integrate with ChatGPT, leveraging large language models to assist with more complex queries\u2014similar to what Google is doing with its Gemini feature on Android. Siri will also be able to interact with other apps, such as Mail and Messages, to answer personal questions like when your flight is scheduled to land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple Intelligence also brings several “Writing Tools” throughout the operating system, powered by machine learning. Google and Samsung have also focused on similar features. When you select text on your iPhone, you\u2019ll see the option for “Writing Tools” in the menu. From there, you can proofread, rewrite, summarize, and more. You can adjust the tone of an email to make it sound either more professional or more casual, check for grammatical errors, or summarize long blocks of text from a PDF with just a tap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Using these tools will take some getting used to, as their presence isn\u2019t immediately obvious. How useful they are will depend on your needs. Personally, I rarely need to summarize large blocks of text, so I haven\u2019t had much use for that feature. The “professional” tone adjustment can be a bit too formal for my tastes. The proofreading tool is more practical, but I wish the option was easier to access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summarizing content seems to be a popular AI trend, and Apple Intelligence doesn\u2019t shy away from this. You can summarize emails, messages, and even third-party notifications. This can be useful, for example, when the Mail app highlights an urgent-sounding email in its summary\u2014one that I might have missed if I had simply skimmed through my inbox. However, more often than not, I just swipe away the summary and go through all the notifications myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Safari also has a summary feature, but it requires using Reader mode on web pages. These little details make it easy to forget about Apple\u2019s smart features and hard to find them when needed. On the plus side, I managed to summarize an 11,000-word article and get the key points when I didn\u2019t have time to read the whole thing. (Sorry about that.) Feel free to summarize this review as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a journalist who regularly attends briefings, I found some of the most helpful Apple Intelligence features to be the new transcription tools in the Notes app, Voice Memos, and even the Phone app. You can hit record in Voice Memos or Notes, and the app will transcribe conversations in real-time. If you\u2019re on a phone call, tapping the record button will notify both parties before starting the transcription, which gets saved to the Notes app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The accuracy of these transcriptions largely depends on the microphone quality of the person you\u2019re talking to, but it\u2019s still better than not having any transcription at all. Unfortunately, there are no speaker labels, like in Google\u2019s Recorder app, and you can\u2019t search the transcriptions for specific quotes. (Technically, you can if you add the transcript to a note in the Notes app, but that adds an extra step.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Camera Features<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Photos app has also received a boost from Apple Intelligence, with the standout feature being Clean Up. Similar to Google\u2019s Magic Eraser, introduced more than three years ago on Pixel phones, you can now remove unwanted objects from the background of your iPhone photos. I was surprised by how much freedom Apple gives you to erase anything. In one selfie, I managed to completely erase my bracelet (Google\u2019s version doesn\u2019t allow you to erase facial features.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I even erased a cup that was blocking my face in a photo, and Clean Up tried to reconstruct the hidden portion of my face\u2014with somewhat creepy results. (For comparison, I tried this feature on a Pixel 9, and the outcome was similarly unsettling, though Google offered more options.) As one of my colleagues remarked, \u201cIt seems like both systems were trained on images of cartoon characters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s more to come with Apple Intelligence. A feature called Image Playground will allow you to generate images, and Genmoji will let you create custom emoji that currently only exist in your imagination. Siri is expected to improve by offering more contextually relevant information. I plan to revisit these updates when they\u2019re rolled out later in the year. Just to clarify, Apple Intelligence will only be available on select devices, such as the iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, and the full iPhone 16 lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The security and privacy aspects of Apple Intelligence are another significant point. Apple is introducing these AI-driven features with a focus on privacy and security through its Private Cloud Compute technology. While security experts are still evaluating how well this approach works, Apple\u2019s strategy of prioritizing user data protection might explain why some of these features are rolling out more slowly than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and there\u2019s a new phone too! While I won\u2019t go into all the specs, I\u2019d like to highlight a few changes. One request for Apple: Please start offering more vibrant color options for the Pro models. It\u2019s disappointing that the iPhone 16 Pro is only available in neutral shades like Desert, with no options for bold colors like pink or ultramarine, which are available for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. (Of course, you can always opt for a flashy case!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pro models are slightly larger than previous versions, and while the increase in screen size initially seemed minor\u2014thanks to thinner bezels\u2014it turns out the phones are also a bit taller. This isn\u2019t too much of an issue with the iPhone 16 Pro, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which was already quite large, is now even harder to use one-handed, especially when reaching the top of the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re considering between the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, it comes down to comfort versus battery life. The Pro Max offers significantly longer battery life, often surpassing six hours of screen-on time with over 30 percent battery left by the end of the day. You could easily carry it over into the next morning. On the iPhone 16 Pro, I achieved over seven hours of screen time, but that left the battery at 15 percent after 12 hours of usage. If you’re a heavy user, you might need to top it off before bedtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wireless charging is also faster on these devices, reaching about 50 percent in 30 minutes when using a MagSafe Charger paired with a 30-watt charger. (Side note: Apple\u2019s 30-watt charger is still much bulkier compared to other options available on the market.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The launch of the iPhone 16 has been one of the more unusual smartphone releases I’ve witnessed from…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":["large-header"],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"u4yo3tyixq8m1euqw1m","csco_post_video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GDlkCkcIqTs","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,42,1],"tags":[38,36,41,39,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-4105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-reviews","9":"category-uncategorized","10":"tag-gadgets","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-phones","13":"tag-reviews","14":"tag-technology","15":"cs-entry","16":"cs-video-wrap"},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techtendency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IP16-1024x451.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe New Pro iPhones<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techtendency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IP16_2-1024x451.jpg\")
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