Apple has finally rolled out its highly-anticipated iOS 18.1 update, packed with AI-powered features designed to enhance user convenience. The update brings a suite of features under the Apple Intelligence umbrella, including the ability to type and talk to Siri, a photo cleanup feature, and notification summaries.

While the features are certainly useful, they fall short of the revolutionary AI capabilities offered by competitors like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The type-to-Siri feature, for instance, allows for easier communication with the virtual assistant, but still relies on web searches for answers to complex queries. The photo cleanup feature, which removes unwanted objects from images, is impressive but not flawless, leaving behind noticeable artifacts.

The notification summary feature, which condenses multiple messages into a single summary, has been met with amusement on social media, with users sharing humorous examples of the AI's attempts to condense complex conversations.

Apple's Craig Federighi acknowledged that the summary feature may not always be funny for users and that the system won't automatically summarize notifications for sensitive contexts.

While Apple Intelligence's first set of features may not be a game-changer, the company has hinted at more advanced AI capabilities in the pipeline, including integration with ChatGPT for text generation. For now, the update may make life a little easier for iPhone users, but it may not be enough to convince users to upgrade to the latest iPhone model.

The rollout of Apple Intelligence marks a significant step into the AI-powered future for the tech giant, and its impact will be closely watched by the startup community. As AI technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Apple and its competitors innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible.