Apple Shares First Example of Image Playground in Action, and It's Based on Craig Federighi's Dog

[MacRumors]

Apple has shared its first "real-world example" of Image Playground, the upcoming Apple Intelligence feature that generates cartoon-like illustrations based on a text prompt. The picture was apparently made by Apple's senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi for his wife, in honor of his dog Bailey's recent birthday.

The picture shows a cute dog wearing a party hat and smiling behind a birthday cake. Apple shared the picture with Wired, which includes a watermark on all AI-generated images that appear in its publications as a matter of policy. Pictures made with Image Playground include EXIF metadata in the file that also indicates it was made with AI, similar to images edited with Apple's new Clean Up tool in the Photos app in iOS 18.1.

Apple describes Image Playground as a "fun" feature that can produce original images in seconds right within apps. Users can create an entirely new image based on a description, suggested concepts, or a person from their Photos library. From there, users can adjust the style and make changes to match a Messages thread, a Freeform board, or a slide in Keynote, for example.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple plans to make the Image Playground feature for generating images and the Genmoji feature for generating custom emoji available in iOS 18.2, which will likely be released in December.

• Here Are All the Devices That Support Apple Intelligence

Apple plans to introduce the first Apple Intelligence features with the release of iOS 18.1, which is expected to launch in October. Among the new capabilities are writing tools for generating and summarizing text, as well as a feature that provides concise summaries of notifications. The Messages app will gain the ability to suggest replies, while a new function will allow users to record and transcribe phone calls. Lastly, the Photos app will benefit from the aforementioned "Clean Up" tool, which is designed to swiftly remove unwanted objects from images.

Article Link: Apple Shares First Example of Image Playground in Action, and It's Based on Craig Federighi's Dog

 

[Kylo83]

Sorry but this is a gimmick will be fun for a demo that’s it

 

[uptownjimmy]

This AI image stuff looks so creepy and weird.

 

[Pitogyro]

Creepy AF

 

[turbineseaplane]

Who wants this junk?

What an enormous waste of money and time to be working on this

 

[A Ruffian]

Getting the same feeling…

 

[coffeemilktea]

Now that anyone with a new iPhone can use Image Playground, I think social media sites are going to see even more AI-generated imagery, huh? 🤖

 

[dugbug]

so do you say a phrase or type what you want to see? if so, what did they use to create that?

 

[spamabyss]

These are all so bad. Why?

 

[steve09090]

Sorry but this is a gimmick will be fund for a demo that’s it

That’s what they said about emoji's. People hating on this need to get a life. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. But don’t hate on it. Unless of course it’s why you are here. Feel free to thumbs down so we know who you are,

 

[Kylo83]

Instead of this could you have done more with AirPods Max than just change a port

 

[contacos]

I am already tired of AI images. They all look the same with unnatural glow to it. Can’t even explain it. Used it for one day on my Fold 6 and forgot about it since

 

[Shoju]

Behold the power of the A18 Pro!

 

[contacos]

That’s what they said about emoji's. People hating on this need to get a life. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. But don’t hate on it. Unless of course it’s why you are here. Feel free to thumbs down so we know who you are,

Emojis are for old people is what I learned as a 36 year old from the next generation

 

[slb]

That's a pretty disappointing level of quality.

 

[arkitect]

All this processing power… all this AI… all the technology… more money than god… and this is what Apple showcases?

Just another Hallmark Birthday Card?

Jesus wept.

 

[nmpraveen]

damn, you guys have no idea how technology works or what. There is a lot going on here. 1. AI-generated images can be much more realistic, but Apple seems to have chosen this approach to find a middle ground between looking good and also being obvious that's its genAI. That's one of the biggest issues with genAI these days. Where do you draw the line? You can see images on Twitter created with Flux.ai, and some of them look too realistic. Very dangerous for obvious reasons.
2. We are still in the early stages of genAI. What, it's been like 2-3 years since SD1.5 came? Things are rapidly developing. Video generation is already good.

Soon, you'll be able to ask a question, and AI will respond with a video, using proper clips to explain exactly what's happening. So don't be so dismissive of early-stage iterations.

 

[slb]

That’s what they said about emoji's. People hating on this need to get a life. If you don’t like it, don’t use it. But don’t hate on it. Unless of course it’s why you are here. Feel free to thumbs down so we know who you are,

Why should anyone "get a life?" This is genuinely unimpressive, especially when you look at the large version of the image in the article. The candles are a mess.

 

[neuropsychguy]

That's a pretty disappointing level of quality.

For something generated on a smartphone? It's quite impressive as far as machine learning generated images go.

 

[Anappleaday29]

Why aren’t they developing the iPhone to be the most powerful pocket computer you can purchase at an affordable price, something you can truly hook up to a computer monitor and use as a makeshift laptop?
Or develop the hell out of some shatter-proof oled screens?
Or even try to move into the hologram era or something?
Where is the true innovation?

 

[neuropsychguy]

Why should anyone "get a life?" This is genuinely unimpressive, especially when you look at the large version of the image in the article. The candles are a mess.

Which AI tools are producing better images with models running on smartphones?

 

[slb]

damn, you guys have no idea how technology works or what. There is a lot going on here. 1. AI-generated images can be much more realistic, but Apple seems to have chosen this approach to find a middle ground between looking good and also being obvious that's its genAI. That's one of the biggest issues with genAI these days. Where do you draw the line? You can see images on Twitter created with Flux.ai, and some of them look too realistic. Very dangerous for obvious reasons.
2. We are still in the early stages of genAI. What, it's been like 2-3 years since SD1.5 came? Things are rapidly developing. Video generation is already good.

Soon, you'll be able to ask a question, and AI will respond with a video, using proper clips to explain exactly what's happening. So don't be so dismissive of early-stage iterations.

I'm very familiar with this technology. The issue isn't so much that the image is cartoonish in style. It's lacking in fine detail, almost like it needed a higher step count, and the candles are an indistinguishable mish-mash. It also looks like they used a "bokeh" term in the prompt which is a cheap way to avoid having to generate a finely detailed background.

 

[everlast3434]

I like how MR put "fun" in quotes lol. Well done.

 

[Rogifan]

Why Apple? Who wants this?

 

[slb]

Which AI tools are producing better images with models running on smartphones?

There are several generative AI apps out there that surpass this. One is Draw Things which can even run the new Flux model.