Siri: New UI, But Still Not Very Smart
YouTuber @Brandon Butch shared his initial hands-on experience.
The new Siri has a completely redesigned UI that looks cooler, with effects like a scrolling light when activated along with a trigger sound.
However, the iOS 18 Beta 1 Siri is still version 1.0 and not integrated with ChatGPT yet. Version 2.0 with ChatGPT is expected in 2025.
As a result, Siri's intelligence still needs improvement. For example, when asked about the specific time 4 hours later, Siri simply replied "To who".
There's also a new way to summon Siri - tapping once at the bottom of the iPhone brings up a bar, while double tapping activates Siri.
The new gradient keyboard interface paired with the new text input makes Siri look very different. The typing version of Siri also seems able to answer questions that the voice version couldn't.
Writing Tools to Help You Communicate Better
A few months ago, we defined Apple Intelligence as a system-native feature, which is perfectly demonstrated in the new Writing Tools functionality.
When typing in Messages or Notes, you'll see an Apple Intelligence button in the top right of the keyboard. Tapping it provides full writing tool features, including three ways to rewrite sentences - "Friendly", "Professional" and "Concise".
In essence, this feature helps you find better ways to express what you really want to say.
It can adjust the tone and nuance when chatting with friends, avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, make writing more professional or friendly, and also more concise. For those not great at communication, this is an invaluable feature.
User @techdroider compared it to Samsung's Galaxy AI, with Apple Intelligence coming out on top.
Of course, if you don't like the rewritten phrasing, you can easily revert back.
This feature also works in Safari. Long press to select a paragraph and the writing tools will pop up.
The summary and bullet point features are more suited for long-form reading.
As an editor with an inbox full of news reports, the default summary button in the top right can greatly improve efficiency by providing one-click summaries.
After clicking the button, Apple Intelligence will automatically browse and read the information, then provide a concise summary at the top in about 1 minute. This works for regular emails too.
The "proofread" function in the writing tools is grammar's nemesis. After inputting text, it clearly points out errors, even improper punctuation usage.
Call Recording: Promising But Room for Improvement
The long-awaited call recording feature is finally here.
To use it, tap the new record button in the top left during a call. The other party will receive a voice prompt that recording has started.
After the call ends, the recording is automatically saved in Notes, including both the audio file and real-time transcription.
The recording can also be saved to the Files app. The m4a audio files are compressed quite small, so the quality is just adequate for listening. The transcribed text can distinguish between speakers.
We also tested dialect transcription. Northern dialects closer to Mandarin transcribed quite accurately, but dialects very different from Mandarin like Cantonese were not understood well by the iPhone.
There are also some smaller features, like creating slideshows and searching for specific photos/videos using natural language.
More Details on Apple Intelligence Revealed
Apple has now released a comprehensive technical report disclosing more details about Apple Intelligence.
Here are some of the official test results from Apple:
[Test result images]
In simple terms, the report details the on-device 3B parameter model AFM-on-device, as well as a larger parameter model...