chasm

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Username: chasm
Joined: June 2014
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Last Active: July 5
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Crime blotter: 12 charged in London Apple Store thefts

chasm

January 26

darren mccoy said:

A bomb exploded in the Cyber Truck. The Cyber Truck did not explode.

That's correct.

It also got less fugly.
How to record audio and create transcripts in Notes in iOS 18

chasm

January 26

Shocker: the folks at AppleInsider want you to actually read the articles. LOL

Bonus: for people who are used to using the Voice Memos app, it too has been granted the transcription ability, but of course it now makes more sense to do this all in Notes.
iOS 18 adoption steady as users explore AI & customization

chasm

January 25

Pema said:

I have turned AI off. Not just with Apple's adoption, but also having attempted to utilise MS Copilot. Considering that it took nearly 15 years for the internet to become a useful info and research tool from the early days of Mosaic, I would suggest that it won't be anytime before 2035 before AI becomes a veritable tool in assisting users in their tasks, be it mathematical or alphabetical.
In the interim it is a kludgy, stumbling, mumbling piece of garbage that needs a heck of a lot more development. Consider it a challenged infant learning to walk and talk.
For the IT industry it has become a byword to invigorate sluggish sales from phones to electric toothbrushes.

You are right that "AI" has become as much a marketing buzzword as much as a genuine technological innovation. This is quite specifically why Apple chose not to call it "AI," and instead hit on the clever but un-abbreviatable moniker of "Apple Intelligence." But sure, if you don't want to have it now (or ever), you can turn it off -- something Apple gives you that I doubt most other companies will. You can certainly ignore Gemini or Copilot -- for now -- but you can't really banish them completely.

You are also right that 10 years from now, "AI" will be as much a natural part of all technology as a home screen. I'd say more like within two years.

I disagree that it is any form of "garbage." I've demonstrated MS' Copilot feature to many people, and they love how it just answers the damn question rather than just showing them a list of websites where they may or may not find the answer as Google Search does. Of course, this currently still depends on your ability to form an articulate question, which sadly many people are shockingly bad at.

Since I work with both platforms, I often demonstrate Copilot to people by asking them to give me a simple question they don't actually know the answer to, like "why is the sky blue" or "how can I brew my own beer at home?"

Copilot gives me a quick, articulate, simple answer to both those questions with no hassle, because it is leveraging ChatGPT. I just tested this with Siri on my iPhone 16 Pro with iOS 18.2.1, and it instantly gave me the correct answer on the sky question. For the beer question, Siri had to reach out to ChatGPT first, but a few seconds later it also gave me a full answer, including the equipment needed, the ingredients needed, and step-by-step instructions.

Not what I'd call "garbage," but yes it will only get better from here.
iOS 18 adoption steady as users explore AI & customization

chasm

January 25

robin huber said:

How do I turn it off? Mail is all mucked up with “features” that are useless to me and just get in the way.

I find it very useful, but if you want to turn it off in Mail you most certainly can:

1. Open Mail on your iPhone.
2. Tap the "three dots" menu in the upper right corner.
3. Choose "List View"

Done!
iOS 18 adoption steady as users explore AI & customization

chasm

January 25

teejay2012 said:

I am one of the people that bought an iPhone 15 thinking that as a recent model, it would be supported with full OS updates for a year at least. Not quite. iOS 18 without AI is not worth the update from 17 imo. Apple knew the 15 base did not have enough memory for AI but did not want to share that.

This is very shortsighted thinking, to put it mildly. For starters, you will absolutely get at least five years of major iOS updates. You may also be suffering from the illusion that your iPhone 15 has no AI-type features, which is mistaken.

There are at least two major updates to iOS 18 (iPadOS 18, macOS 15, etc) yet to arrive. Each one will have changes, upgrades and features that do not require Apple Intelligence, as the majority of iPhones currently in use do not support the feature. Your current iPhone will also support iOS 19, iOS 20, iOS 21, and probably iOS 22.

You're also overlooking what your iPhone can do right now, today. It has machine learning and it has a Neural Engine, This enables features that are considered "AI" features on other smartphones.

Just as one example, Apple Notes can now make audio recordings (of let's say a lecture or meeting), and provide a transcription of that recording. No Apple Intelligence required (I still have an Intel-based Mac so I know this for a fact), and for me this feature is a godsend, because I serve on some community organization boards. That's an example of AI, but Apple differentiates what they call "machine learning" from the set of features they call Apple Intelligence. Your iPhone 15 absolutely has some AI in it, and this link outlines what those are.

You are correct that the iPhone 15 lacks the 8GB of RAM needed for Apple Intelligence (and also doesn't have the A18 Pro or better chip needed). The iPhone 15 was introduced before Apple formally announced the feature set they call Apple Intelligence, but doesn't generally publicize the RAM amount of any iPhone, so not sharing that info (except on the iPhone product tech specs page on Apple.com, of course) is not unusual.

What you got for your money is a great smartphone with a wonderfully private and secure OS that Android users can not make the same claim about, a 48MP camera, double the brightness of the iPhone 14, 3x better Find My location seeking, clearer voice calls because of machine learning, Emergency SOS via Satellite, and a USB-C port that opens many new opportunities for interfacing with other devices than any iPhone with a Lightning connector had, not to mention the reduced cost of third-party cables if you need one. And it has some useful (or what Wired calls "intuitive" AI as opposed to "generative") AI features -- sorry, I mean "machine learning features."

But if you feel that you pulled the trigger too soon because you couldn't predict that Apple would bring out Apple Intelligence last June, you still have options.

If you're like many people, you may have a two-year contract on that iPhone for your cell service, and perhaps bought the iPhone through your carrier as I did with my new iPhone. If so, you can sell or return the iPhone 15 in two years* and get the new hotness, the iPhone 17, when your contract expires.

*of course you may also be able to just return or sell the iPhone 15 right now if you bought it outright, and get a 15 Pro or later model with Apple Intelligence if you really want it that bad.