Apple has launched its first major artificial intelligence (AI) features through a free software update, marking what Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook called "a new era" for the company's devices.

The update, released on 28 October, brings Apple Intelligence to compatible iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, though availability is currently limited to devices set to US English, with availability coming to UK users in December. Users in the EU will need to wait until April 2024 for iPhone and iPad features, though Mac users can access the tools immediately through macOS Sequoia 15.1.

"Apple Intelligence introduces a new era for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, delivering brand-new experiences and tools that will transform what our users can accomplish," said Cook.

The initial features include AI-powered writing tools that can refine text, summarise emails, and adjust writing tone. A redesigned Siri assistant now appears as a glowing light around the screen edge and can better maintain context during conversations thanks to new capabilities powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT. The Photos app has gained natural language search capabilities and a new Clean Up tool for removing unwanted objects from images.

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, emphasised the company's focus on privacy, noting that many features run directly on devices. When cloud processing is required, a new system called Private Cloud Compute ensures user data "is never stored or shared with Apple."

The features are available on iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro devices, iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later, and Macs with M1 chips or newer. Additional capabilities, including emoji generation and ChatGPT integration, will roll out in December.

Beyond the US and EU, Apple plans to expand language support throughout 2024, with localised English versions coming to Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK in December. Further language support, including Chinese, French, German, Japanese and others, will arrive in April.

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