Apple is staking a lot on AI.
With iPad sales dropping in recent years, the company is hoping to bounce back by building Apple Intelligence into future updates of iPadOS 18.
Apple Intelligence is a privacy-first AI system that offers smart writing tools, an improved version of Siri, image generation, better notification management, and various automated app actions.
The big question is – will an AI-driven operating system actually redefine the iPad experience? Or is Apple just playing catch-up with Samsung and Microsoft by adding some AI features and hoping for the best?
In this guide, we’ll take a deeper look at Apple Intelligence and whether iPad users are likely to find it useful or not.
What Is Apple Intelligence?
It’s Apple’s version of AI, but with a big difference – it runs directly on your iPad or iPhone instead of relying on cloud servers like Samsung’s Galaxy AI and Microsoft’s Copilot.
In order to process AI tasks on-board their devices, Apple has started to use ultra-powerful chips (A17 Pro, M-series) that have dedicated Neural Engines. These chips are designed to handle complex and resource-intensive AI tasks locally, without needing to send data to and from the cloud.
Simple AI tasks, such as summarising text or prioritising notifications are handled entirely on the device without needing internet access. More complex tasks use Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, which processes data securely without storing or sharing it.
Which iPadOS 18 AI Features Stand Out?
Smarter Writing Tools
Apple Intelligence offers a built-in editor that can proofread, reword, or change the tone of what you’re writing. You can use it anywhere you type, such as Notes, Mail, Messages, and even third-party apps.
If you want to summarise a chunk of text, like long emails, articles, or group chats, Apple AI does it for you, similar to a TL;DR button! You can tweak the summaries to show key points and highlights only, organise the info in a neat table, and take a casual or professional tone.
The AI actually understands context instead of just swapping words with synonyms, which means it can generate basic insights into the text, rather than just a shortened mash up of what’s already there.
Image Playground
Apple Intelligence includes an AI image generator called Image Playground that’s built into iPadOS, allowing you to generate images directly in Messages, Freeform, Notes, or Keynote.
For a bit of fun, you can type a prompt like "a purple cat playing the piano while wearing pyjamas" and it will generate some kind of image depicting it, although the precision and quality is variable. You can also use Genmoji to create custom emojis based on your own face.
On a more serious note, you can use Image Playground to generate quick sketches for project visuals and icons for presentations. You can also customise the style easily, choosing between animation, illustration, or sketch mode.
All in all, it isn’t a Photoshop AI replacement, but it’s great for casual users and content creators who want quick, AI-generated visuals.
Siri Upgrades
Apple Intelligence makes Siri smarter and more natural to talk to. Now, when you say things like “remind me about the important thing I mentioned earlier today, after lunch”, there’s a good chance Siri will actually understand you. It will also learn your habits more effectively and suggest actions before you even ask, for instance:
-
If you always call your boss at 9 AM, it might give you a quick reminder at 8.50 AM.
-
If you’re heading to a meeting, Siri can warn you about traffic and suggest when to leave.
-
If you stop drafting an email abruptly and switch to another task, it may ask if you want to set a reminder to finish it later.
The new and improved Siri can also handle multiple tasks at once. For example, if you say something like, “Set a timer for 10 minutes, play my focus playlist, and turn on Do Not Disturb.” Siri will do all three instantly.
Even better, Siri can jump between apps. If you’re reading an email and say, “Add this flight info to my calendar and send it to Bob,” Siri will pull the details, create the event, and send the message, all in one step.
If this all works as Apple promises, Siri could finally become a very useful personal assistant that speeds up your daily tasks.
AI-Powered App Enhancements
Apple AI will make document scanning faster and more precise by automatically:
-
Detecting documents when you hold your iPad over them.
-
Fixing lighting and perspective to give you clearer scans.
-
Extracting text instantly, so you don’t have to type it manually.
No more fiddling with crop tools or retaking blurry scans, simply hold your iPad over a receipt or document, and AI will scan it, extract the text, and save a copy automatically.
For Apple Pencil users, handwriting-to-text is also faster and more accurate with AI, as it understands the context, formats everything properly, and reduces autocorrect fails.
Will Apple Intelligence Redefine Tablets?
If you're a writer, artist, or video editor, Apple’s AI could streamline your workflow in a big way. Business users might also benefit from the suite of new productivity tools and handy multitasking features.
For everyday users, the AI features might be fun and useful, but are they enough to justify parting with hard-earned cash for an iPad upgrade? That remains to be seen.
Using your iPad for customer-facing tasks? Check out our range of iPad stands to make your setup more safe and secure.
