Visual Intelligence: How to Use It, Features and More

[Mac Fly (film)]

I bought it with the intention of having a phone they could introduce new features with adding the buttons via a software update...just as Apple touted back in 2007.

To make it worse these features have been around in other apps for years.

 

[Abazigal]

Google and Samsung already introduced that at a more affordable price than the Vision Pro. Their offerings go way beyond apples offerings. So another dead end for Apple.

It wouldn't be the first someone told me that Apple was doomed because someone else was offering something similar for way cheaper, just saying. Anyone thinking that this somehow signifies death knells for Apple are sorely mistaken.

 

[9081094]

Eh, I find my iPhone experience to be amazing, you find it subpar.. Opinions, every one has one. And then you offer up a link to vaporware... Sorry I don't compare advertising to reality. I would also offer the Apple Vision Pro is not the ending but the beginning, Apple is not focused on one device today, but where the ecosystem is going. Sure, one can design a device to meet today's expectations, and maybe it might be better for just that, but betting against Apple in the long run is just ignoring history. That's the feature focus I find to be lacking. I enjoy my Apple Vision Pro and the glimpse of tomorrow. Apple is not just showing windows on a screen but building a whole new way of interacting with computing. Perhaps you are too young to know the days when command line interfaces ruled the day, and then came the Mac 128. Yes it was a rough start, but here we are today and command line interfaces are a thing of the past.

Sorry, just not getting that excited about the subpar experiences the google universe offers. Not to mention, I value my privacy. It's not always about a specific feature.

You’re forgetting that now Apple is up to a plethora of soft- and hardware developers who have proven to be ahead of Apple on many fronts already.

Apple’s AI offerings are only hooks to the AI from others. You’re probably using tools from google (search), meta (facebook, instagram, whatsapp) too. So your iPhone isn’t “safer” than all the others around. It’s a myth Apple desperately pushes alive because in reality they’re getting behind so far it’s getting laughable. Nokia and blackberry keeps popping up in my mind when I think what Apple is doing.

 

[9081094]

It wouldn't be the first someone told me that Apple was doomed because someone else was offering something similar for way cheaper, just saying. Anyone thinking that this somehow signifies death knells for Apple are sorely mistaken.

Time will tell. But the fact is that Apple is getting behind on so many fronts on hard- and software it surely doesn’t justify their steep prices and surely doesn’t bode well for their future.

 

[9081094]

All the things Apple is offering with their Apple Intelligence are dependent on Open AI (ChatGPT) or google’s offerings. They are hooks in apples iOS to use them more quickly.

What are apples own inventions in this?

 

[Abazigal]

Time will tell. But the fact is that Apple is getting behind on so many fronts on hard- and software it surely doesn’t justify their steep prices and surely doesn’t bode well for their future.

I guess it's a matter of perspective.

In another thread, Microsoft is winding down their Surface Studio, which was at one time being used as criticism that Apple was no longer innovating. But Microsoft never really bothered to promote said product, leaving it to languish.

Second, Microsoft initially launched Recall and their collaboration with openAI to much fanfare, yet had to "recall" the former prior to launch due to controversy, and the latter has not stopped openAi from working with other companies, including Apple. Meaning Microsoft just lost a key differentiator.

Then there was Google Stadia.

Folding phones is another example of a niche product category that has its core fan base, but which does not seem to have caught on with the majority of users.

What I am trying to say here is that there is such a thing as being too early to market, especially when it comes to AI, as evidenced by Microsoft. At the same time, not having AI features does not mean you are late, especially if you end up announcing controversial features that serve only to further diminish the trust that users have in your platform (as appears to be the case with Recall).

What I see Apple doing is taking their time to deliver new features in an integrated fashion while making them socially acceptable, which means that Apple is, as they often end up being, again right on time.

All the things Apple is offering with their Apple Intelligence are dependent on Open AI (ChatGPT) or google’s offerings. They are hooks in apples iOS to use them more quickly.

What are apples own inventions in this?

Apple's strength remains in aggregating AI partners to serve the end user experience on its terms, by virtue of owning the platform and the end user. I have not been able to play with the new AI features yet since Apple Intelligence is not available in my country, but my understanding is that the features announced during WWDC revolve around being limited yet functional and useful, by leveraging a database of the user's personal information which nobody else really has access to. In short, something that Apple is uniquely positioned to do.

I have, on more than one occasion, mentioned that the best way of covering Apple is to begin with Apple. You start with Apple, and then you analyse the industry that Apple operates in. Instead, what I see a lot of people still do today is that they just treat Apple as any other company. But Apple does a lot of things differently, and if all you are doing is simply comparing Apple to everyone else and then go “Hey, Apple isn’t following what everyone else is doing, so I don’t think whatever Apple is doing is going to work”, I think they go down the wrong path.

When it comes to Apple, I feel that Apple's unique strength is in knowing more about the user than any other AI, by virtue of Apple owning and controlling the hardware and software of their respective platform. They are also able to get other companies to serve its interests on its terms. It was the case with music labels (for iTunes), with carriers (for the iPhone), and now openAI (for AI).

For example, chatGPT or Gemini, while arguably impressive from a technical standpoint, only have publicly available knowledge to go by. They will never know anything about me, which means that they fill very different roles compared to Apple Intelligence (basically replacing Siri's web search function and image recognition). I also assume that Apple gets a cut of any chatGPT subscriptions sold this way, and it frees Apple from needing to invest in inordinate amount of resources to develop its own LLM (which is likely the wise move moving forward, seeing how they are getting increasingly commoditised).

Ultimately, I remained convinced that Apple will "win" in AI to the extent that it matters for Apple. Apple Intelligence will deepen the moat around the Apple ecosystem, while increasingly commoditised vendors compete for access to Apple's user base. For example, is it such a huge deal that Apple hasn't have their own chatGPT equivalent, just like Apple doesn't own a search engine, yet is able to get Google to pay it $20 billion a year? Which makes more sense in the long run?

 

[randolorian]

Version 2 of the Not Hotdog app.

 

[9081094]

I guess it's a matter of perspective.

In another thread, Microsoft is winding down their Surface Studio, which was at one time being used as criticism that Apple was no longer innovating. But Microsoft never really bothered to promote said product, leaving it to languish.

Second, Microsoft initially launched Recall and their collaboration with openAI to much fanfare, yet had to "recall" the former prior to launch due to controversy, and the latter has not stopped openAi from working with other companies, including Apple. Meaning Microsoft just lost a key differentiator.

Then there was Google Stadia.

Folding phones is another example of a niche product category that has its core fan base, but which does not seem to have caught on with the majority of users.

What I am trying to say here is that there is such a thing as being too early to market, especially when it comes to AI, as evidenced by Microsoft. At the same time, not having AI features does not mean you are late, especially if you end up announcing controversial features that serve only to further diminish the trust that users have in your platform (as appears to be the case with Recall).

What I see Apple doing is taking their time to deliver new features in an integrated fashion while making them socially acceptable, which means that Apple is, as they often end up being, again right on time.


Apple's strength remains in aggregating AI partners to serve the end user experience on its terms, by virtue of owning the platform and the end user. I have not been able to play with the new AI features yet since Apple Intelligence is not available in my country, but my understanding is that the features announced during WWDC revolve around being limited yet functional and useful, by leveraging a database of the user's personal information which nobody else really has access to. In short, something that Apple is uniquely positioned to do.

I have, on more than one occasion, mentioned that the best way of covering Apple is to begin with Apple. You start with Apple, and then you analyse the industry that Apple operates in. Instead, what I see a lot of people still do today is that they just treat Apple as any other company. But Apple does a lot of things differently, and if all you are doing is simply comparing Apple to everyone else and then go “Hey, Apple isn’t following what everyone else is doing, so I don’t think whatever Apple is doing is going to work”, I think they go down the wrong path.

When it comes to Apple, I feel that Apple's unique strength is in knowing more about the user than any other AI, by virtue of Apple owning and controlling the hardware and software of their respective platform. They are also able to get other companies to serve its interests on its terms. It was the case with music labels (for iTunes), with carriers (for the iPhone), and now openAI (for AI).

For example, chatGPT or Gemini, while arguably impressive from a technical standpoint, only have publicly available knowledge to go by. They will never know anything about me, which means that they fill very different roles compared to Apple Intelligence (basically replacing Siri's web search function and image recognition). I also assume that Apple gets a cut of any chatGPT subscriptions sold this way, and it frees Apple from needing to invest in inordinate amount of resources to develop its own LLM (which is likely the wise move moving forward, seeing how they are getting increasingly commoditised).

Ultimately, I remained convinced that Apple will "win" in AI to the extent that it matters for Apple. Apple Intelligence will deepen the moat around the Apple ecosystem, while increasingly commoditised vendors compete for access to Apple's user base. For example, is it such a huge deal that Apple hasn't have their own chatGPT equivalent, just like Apple doesn't own a search engine, yet is able to get Google to pay it $20 billion a year? Which makes more sense in the long run?

And the best thing Apple is showing us is a hafbaked version of a Genmoji. But you’re probably right in Apple knows best on what users wants most 🤭

 

[harriska2]

Well I’ll just hang onto my 12 mini even longer. Apple can upsell its little heart out.

 

[citysnaps]

You don't get to Apple's market cap by just giving features away. Sadly it wasn't always like this

Also... You don't get to Apple having 1+ Billion active and repeat customers by not giving them what they love and want.

Without the above, Apple's sales would be in the toilet, along with market cap.

 

[The Game 161]

It's a very good feature and very useful to have but this should be a software option not a hardware option like apple has decided to make it. It's basically like googles circle to search which is a must have for phones really.

 

[navaira]

Wow so one redundant button is keeping me from having this on my 15 Pro that has all other Apple Intelligence features? Does Apple have no shame left?
This is extra annoying as its the only truly useful feature that stands out in the extremely lacklustre Apple Intelligence Features released so far.

*stares at iPhone 15 Pro which I bought largely because it would support Apple Intelligence* Well, I guess Image Playground and Genmojis will be available, and that’s the good stuff, right?

Now is a good moment to announce some really useful features that will be available on all devices with Mx processors as long as x equals 4.

 

[Mistletoe66]

Thank god(tim apple) that i can turn apple intelligence off!

 

[PhoenixAnhart]

The first sentence of the article made me laugh. Thanks for that macrumors.

 

[stevemiller]

i'm not clamouring for any of this, but it is endlessly hilarious to watch apple desperately try to treat it like we should.

 

[Chungry]

Eh, I find my iPhone experience to be amazing, you find it subpar.. Opinions, every one has one. And then you offer up a link to vaporware... Sorry I don't compare advertising to reality. I would also offer the Apple Vision Pro is not the ending but the beginning, Apple is not focused on one device today, but where the ecosystem is going. Sure, one can design a device to meet today's expectations, and maybe it might be better for just that, but betting against Apple in the long run is just ignoring history. That's the feature focus I find to be lacking. I enjoy my Apple Vision Pro and the glimpse of tomorrow. Apple is not just showing windows on a screen but building a whole new way of interacting with computing. Perhaps you are too young to know the days when command line interfaces ruled the day, and then came the Mac 128. Yes it was a rough start, but here we are today and command line interfaces are a thing of the past.

Sorry, just not getting that excited about the subpar experiences the google universe offers. Not to mention, I value my privacy. It's not always about a specific feature.

Let's set aside privacy for arguments sake because it's a good point but not quite the focus here. The real irony here is that most of Apple Intelligence is vaporware even considering the most recent update, compared with what Google, Samsung et all offer today. Their XR was running on device, unlike what the WWDC keynote showed so it's more the case that Apple is more the vaporware product. While the Samsung glasses and headset aren't out the demos were on-device which is something Apple couldn't claim. To be clear it remains to be seen how the implementation works on those, but Apple was much more trading on and advertising vaporware than their competitors. It belies their competitive disadvantage and late entry to this space. That's what I'm saying. You can use the majority of these "AI" services today on any Android device (not the AR/VR stuff mind you) and it works at scale. Apple meantime is selling phones based on features that are gated and have a waiting list and, at least with my 16PM, very lacking once you've got into the beta. It's slightly ridiculous that Apple is operating on such a low level. I buy Apple for the best experience and they've publicly falltered here.

 

[CrysisDeu]

When you bought your 15Pro, did you do that in anticipation to get this feature?

yeah please don’t expect your phone to get one year worth of iOS update.

 

[The Game 161]

So... what do I need to press if I just want to take a photo? Should I be careful to take my finger off the camera button in less than 0.3 seconds or something? Should I practice doing that without dropping the too large phone?

double tap

hold the button down if you want visional intelligence

 

[jz0309]

yeah please don’t expect your phone to get one year worth of iOS update.

That is total BS and you know it.

 

[Chungry]

yeah please don’t expect your phone to get one year worth of iOS update.

That's a dangerous game to play. Buy a product for what it can do at that moment not what's promised. I think MKBHD popularized that but it rings true, especially for Apple Intelligence.

 

[tknelson]

Wow so one redundant button is keeping me from having this on my 15 Pro that has all other Apple Intelligence features? Does Apple have no shame left?
This is extra annoying as its the only truly useful feature that stands out in the extremely lacklustre Apple Intelligence Features released so far.

More to the point, yes... this is clearly just an excuse. Since you have to take a picture, and all the back-end processing obviously happens in the cloud, tying this to a new button on the iPhone 16 is an interface choice. They are figuring most users aren't savvy enough to understand and be irritated by this to hurt them.

 

[mjz_5]

When you bought your 15Pro, did you do that in anticipation to get this feature?

That’s is ridiculous. So a Mac should never be allowed to upgrade to a new MacOS and get new features as well?

 

[scrapesleon]

the visual intelligence need to be on the Vision Pro

 

[jz0309]

That’s is ridiculous. So a Mac should never be allowed to upgrade to a new MacOS and get new features as well?

Did I say that? When you buy a 2023 Civic and they introduce a new feature in the 2024 Cicic - what do you do??

Expecting every new feature in an OS to work on every piece of HW is just not realistic.

 

[Rollinpebble]

Gemini as an assistant is genuinely helpful and I've had zero wrong answers or "I'll search the web for" moments. Context building based on conversation is impressive as well.

What kind of things are you asking Gemini?