It could be argued that Apple's AI efforts haven't been as fruitful as those of its competitors. While other companies have launched advanced chatbots and deeply integrated AI into their systems and platforms, Apple has failed to deliver on promises made earlier in 2024. A context-aware Siri update is still "coming soon," and the Apple Intelligence features that have been released have generally been disappointing. But all hope isn't lost. Besides the anticipated arrival of the new Siri in March, there are several AI tools already available on the iPhone that don't fall under the Apple Intelligence umbrella.
Apple has consistently included the Neural Engine, which powers machine learning features on the device, since the launch of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X in 2017. While Writing Tools and Clean Up in Photos are the first things that come to mind when talking about Apple Intelligence, there are many other smart features that don't require Apple Intelligence or even an internet connection to work on iOS. Learn about them:
Photos application
If you're an iPhone photography enthusiast, you'll undoubtedly appreciate how well the iPhone understands your photo library. Once you've taken or saved a photo, you can tap and hold on the main subject to instantly isolate it and insert it elsewhere, change its background, or turn it into a poster. This greatly simplifies the photo editing process, whether for professional workflows or everyday use.
Similarly, the Spatial Scene feature in iOS 26 analyzes your photos to understand their depth. This allows you to create a three-dimensional, animated version of the shot that reacts to the iPhone's movement.
The Photos app on iOS doesn't just detect edges to identify objects; it also understands the internal context of an image. This allows you to search your entire media library using relevant keywords, such as "dog," "table," "pasta," "recipe," and so on.
Dictation
Another smart feature that many users rely on is offline dictation. Instead of typing long texts by hand, simply press the microphone button on the built-in keyboard and start speaking. The iPhone will listen and convert your speech to text in real time. This feature is highly accurate and ensures correct punctuation.
The device's built-in speech-to-text engine also works in the Voice Memos and Phone apps, allowing you to transcribe recordings and voice calls directly. While summarizing the transcription requires Apple Intelligence, the transcription process itself works without activating Apple's AI suite.
Personal Voice
Apple takes accessibility tools very seriously, helping people with disabilities get the most out of their devices. Personalized Voice is one such AI-powered accessibility feature that allows the iPhone to convert text to speech using your own voice.
While the initial version of the feature required a tedious 15-minute setup process, the latest version simply requires you to read 10 sentences aloud. Once set up, the iPhone can speak using your simulated voice whenever you enter text into the designated field.
Siri suggestions
While Siri itself isn't always adept at handling user requests, the suggestions it offers can be incredibly helpful. For those unfamiliar, iOS learns from your habits and highlights relevant actions and information in various parts of the system, such as Spotlight and the Lock Screen. For example, if you tend to open Apple Maps every day at 5 PM to get home from work, you'll find the shortcut waiting for you as soon as you unlock your phone around that time.
Live Text
Live Text is an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system tool that lets you interact with supported characters in a wide range of apps. In the Photos app, for example, you can quickly copy phrases that appear in images or call a phone number that has been photographed. The feature also works in compatible third-party apps, as well as with images on the web when browsing with Safari. It's an efficient way to copy, translate, or share text directly from an image.
Mail application
While email summaries were recently launched as an exclusive Apple Intelligence feature, the Mail app has gained other smart features that don't require activating the AI suite. Most notably, it can now analyze and sort emails by subject and place them into custom inboxes.
These categories include: “Primary”, “Transactions”, “Promotions”, and “Updates”. It’s an elegant way to filter out noise that you can easily turn on or off at any time.
Live Recognition
Personal Voice isn't the only AI-powered accessibility feature in iOS. Live Recognition is a built-in smart camera that can describe objects and people in front of you. People with limited vision can rely on their iPhones to navigate their surroundings effortlessly.
the battery
The iPhone's smart features also extend to power management. iOS learns from your charging habits to enable Optimized Battery Charging. If you keep your iPhone plugged in overnight, it won't fully charge until morning, which is when you usually unplug it.
“Adaptive Power mode” is another smart feature that monitors your usage and optimizes performance to maximize iPhone battery life.
Camera
Although the built-in camera app doesn't offer as many AI tools as some Android phones like Pixel, it's still quite intelligent. For example, it can recognize faces and pets before taking a picture. This allows it to dynamically adjust its focus based on what it detects in the camera lens.
Similarly, the app can suggest shooting modes based on the environment, such as “Night mode” in low light, “Macro mode” for close-up shots, etc.
As we've seen, the iPhone is packed with smart features that don't rely on the new Apple Intelligence suite. From photo management and usability to improved battery performance, the Neural Engine has been quietly working for years to make the user experience smarter and more efficient, without always needing the latest buzzy features or a connection to cloud servers.
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