AI-Generated Images Are About To Invade Your iPhone, iPad, And Mac

Apple recently announced a lot of new AI-powered software features that will soon be integrated into the iOS18 and macOS Sonoma operating systems during its worldwide developer community 2024 keynote. Some of these new features are designed for productivity and to streamline the various user interface systems that are available on Apple products. One of the biggest announcements was that Siri will now have ChatGPT-generated upgrades baked in, but there will also be a lot of image generation involved in these updates, meaning Apple users are about to see a lot more artificially generated visuals on their screens.

There were five major tools and applications that were announced which will make use of machine learning image generation: Genmoji, Image Playground, Image Wand, Photo Editing, and Memory Movie. Each of these uses this technology in different ways, and some of them are so subtle that you might not even realize that you're using AI. Not only that, but the company has designed these features to be fully integrated with ChatGPT, so image and text generation will work hand-in-hand across multiple systems. It's hard to predict how extensively these systems will be interconnected before launch, but Apple has already explained how the five basic applications will work independently.

Two of these applications will be implemented in the Messages app. The first is Genmoji, a new AI-powered system that creates custom emojis. These will be different from normal emojis, since the usual Unicode characters that emojis are usually made of are consistent across different phone brands and operating systems. Instead, these will be artificially generated image files that will be accessible on multiple platforms. Messages will also make use of a feature called Image Playground. This will allow you to choose from different categories, such as "places" or "costumes." You can then add images that match these descriptors to your Image Playground, where you will be able to preview images, choose the one you want to generate, and then add a subject from one of your actual photos to the generated images. This isn't exclusive to the messages app, either. Keynote, Pages, and Freeform will have access to it as well, and there will be an independent Playground app.

While we're on the subject of AI-powered image editing, Image Wand is a new tool that is going to be built into the Notes app. You will be able to use this to turn a rough sketch into a more detailed, finished image. You simply circle the sketch, and then it will open in the Image Playground, analyze the image, and then generate a result. It can even suggest content to fill an empty space. The devices' basic photo editing software will also now have an AI-powered tool that can remove distracting backgrounds from images.

Finally, there is the new Create Memory Movie feature, which will allow you to use AI to create a movie of memories using the photos you have saved on your phone. You simply write a description of the movie you want it to make, and it will make a video featuring a curated list of your photos that match your description.