Apple Intelligence took centre stage at Apple’s September “Surprise and shine” event, held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, as the company signalled a marked shift towards placing artificial intelligence at the heart of its hardware. Rather than referring solely to “intelligence” or “Apple Intelligence”, the company spoke directly about AI, tying it closely to its latest device improvements and positioning itself firmly within the consumer AI landscape.
The move represents a notable change in tone for a firm that had previously taken a more reserved approach to AI, focusing on hardware rather than committing heavily to AI features and tools.
AI as core architecture
Apple chief executive John Ternus set out the company’s direction during the event. “As we look ahead, we see a future filled with enormous discovery and transformation,” he said. “AI makes entirely new kinds of experiences possible. And AI can become even more useful when it brings together your life with the apps, services and products you use every day. And this means the product at the centre of your experiences becomes even more essential.”
That central product is the iPhone, which Ternus described as an “intelligent personal hub” sitting at the intersection of advanced AI capabilities and an understanding of personal context. The system draws on information such as calendars, contacts, routines, messages and app activity to offer more relevant assistance throughout the day.
Apple acknowledged that this degree of personalisation raises data privacy considerations. Ternus emphasised that Apple Intelligence defaults to on-device processing, keeping data with the user rather than on a remote server. When additional power is required, requests extend to Private Cloud Compute, with protections designed to ensure that no one, including Apple, can access personal data.
AI on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
According to Lilian Rincon, Apple vice-president of AI product marketing, the new iPhone 18 Pro is “built to take full advantage of all the capabilities of Apple Intelligence”. Users gain access to the latest Apple Foundation Models and, notably, the most advanced Siri capabilities to date.
The updated version of Siri combines personal context awareness, on-screen and in-app action, and a dedicated, customisable Siri app. On the device, Siri can cross-reference, take action and synthesise information across 300,000 native and third-party apps, including Mail, Messages, WhatsApp and Outlook. For example, Siri can draw together details from emails and texts to create a summary of what a user needs to do to prepare for an upcoming family visit.
Visual intelligence is also expanding, with Siri able to “see what you see”. Using the camera or display, users can direct Siri to identify what is in front of them, ask questions or carry out related actions.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are positioned as the devices best equipped to run these features, with Apple framing the handset as the product placed at the centre of the user’s everyday AI experiences.
