I Tested the Apple Intelligence Beta on My iPhone: Here's What Actually Works

I’ll be honest—when Apple first announced “Apple Intelligence” at WWDC back in 2024, I rolled my eyes. Another AI buzzword from a company that’s usually late to the party. But then I got the beta invite last week, and I’ve been living with it on my iPhone 15 Pro since June 5. And yeah, I have thoughts.

Let’s start with the obvious: this isn’t ChatGPT glued onto Siri. It’s deeper than that. Apple’s approach is all about on-device processing and privacy, which means it’s actually useful in ways that feel… human. For example, the new writing tools that show up across the system—Mail, Notes, Messages, even third-party apps—are shockingly good at rewording your sentences without sounding like a robot. I sent a grumpy email to my landlord about a leaky faucet, and the “Friendly” tone option turned it into something that probably made him smile. That’s wild.

But here’s what nobody’s talking about: the notification summaries. I’ve got about 50 group chats going (help me), and Apple Intelligence now groups them into smart summaries on my lock screen. It doesn’t just show “5 messages from Sarah”—it actually reads them and tells me “Sarah is asking about dinner plans, and Mike sent a meme.” It’s creepy accurate. And yes, it’s all happening on-device, so Apple isn’t reading my texts. That’s a big deal for privacy nerds like me.

The Image Playground Feature Is Fun But Flawed

One of the big demo moments was Image Playground, where you can generate images from text prompts. I tried it with “a cat wearing a tiny hat on a beach” and got… something. The style is cartoony, not photorealistic, which I actually prefer—it feels less like a deepfake tool and more like a toy. But the results are hit or miss. Sometimes the cat has three ears. Sometimes it looks like Picasso drew it after three coffees. It’s not replacing Midjourney anytime soon, but for making dumb stickers for my friends? Perfect.

I’ve also been playing with the new Genmoji feature, which lets you create custom emoji on the fly. I made one of my friend Dave with a unibrow and a pizza slice, and he cried laughing. It’s silly, but that’s the point. Apple is finally letting us have fun with AI instead of just using it for work.

Siri Finally Got a Brain—But It’s Still Learning

Siri has been the butt of jokes for years. “Hey Siri, set a timer” is about all I trusted it with. But with Apple Intelligence, Siri can now understand context. I asked “What’s the weather like tomorrow?” and then immediately said “And what about Thursday?” and it actually followed the thread. No repeating the full question. That’s basic stuff for Google Assistant, but for Siri? It’s a miracle.

However, it still stumbles on complex requests. I tried “Remind me to call mom when I get home, but only if it’s after 6 PM” and Siri just… stared at me. So we’re not at “AI that understands nuance” yet. But it’s a huge step forward, and the beta is smoother than I expected. No crashes, no weird bugs.

Should You Install the Beta?

If you’re a developer or a masochist, sure. But for normal people? Wait for the public beta in July. The battery drain is real—I’m losing about 15% more per day because the phone is constantly processing AI tasks. And some apps don’t play nice with the new features yet. Instagram kept crashing until I turned off the smart summaries. Still, I’m optimistic. Apple is doing what Apple does best: taking a messy technology and making it feel polished and private. I just wish they’d let us turn off the AI for individual apps. Sometimes I don’t want my messages summarized. Sometimes I want to read the chaos myself.

Final verdict: Apple Intelligence isn’t revolutionary, but it’s the most thoughtful AI integration I’ve seen on a phone. It feels like it’s actually trying to help, not just sell you something. And in 2026, that’s refreshing.