Updated on September 14, 2026
Apple Intelligence is the AI system built into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro, included with the device at no charge. No subscription exists, the real entry ticket is hardware, an iPhone 15 Pro at minimum or any M1 machine. Since June 2026 the suite runs on a rebuilt architecture, with a reworked Siri refined with help from Google Gemini. Most of it processes right on your device.
Apple Intelligence lives inside the apps you already open, with no separate window to manage. Writing Tools proofread, rewrite or summarize any text, Mail drafts replies and flags urgent messages, and stacked notifications shrink into a single line.
Visual intelligence is the party trick. You point the camera at a concert poster, the iPhone pulls out the date and suggests a calendar event. Photos erases a stranger in one gesture, textbook AI image editing, while live translation slips into Messages, FaceTime and phone calls. And when a question is too hard for Siri, the assistant asks permission to pass it to ChatGPT.
Since June 8, 2026, a rebuilt architecture powers the suite, based on Apple foundation models refined with help from Google Gemini. Image Playground was reworked along the way and now produces photorealistic pictures, editable by simply describing the change you want.
The headline piece is the rebuilt Siri, aware of what sits on screen and able to chain actions across several apps. It launched as an English-only beta with iOS 27, behind a waitlist, and EU iPhones are still waiting their turn (Macs and Vision Pro got it from day one).
An iPhone 15 Pro at minimum, or any iPad or Mac with an M1 chip, is the entry ticket. The suite speaks nine languages and remains unavailable in mainland China.
On privacy, most requests are handled on the device and the rest goes to Private Cloud Compute, where Apple says nothing is stored. The heaviest local features, expressive voices among them, call for 12GB of memory, reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air and M3 Macs onward.
| Device | Minimum required |
|---|---|
| iPhone | iPhone 15 Pro or later (A17 Pro chip) |
| iPad | M1 chip or later, iPad mini A17 Pro |
| Mac | M1 chip or later, Apple Silicon only |
| Apple Watch | Series 9, Ultra 2 or SE 3, paired with a supported iPhone |
| Apple Vision Pro | M2 chip or later |
Yes, Apple Intelligence is completely free, with no subscription attached. Features arrive through iOS, iPadOS and macOS updates on supported hardware. The only real cost is the device itself, since the floor sits at an iPhone 15 Pro or any Mac or iPad running an M1 chip or later.
Head to Settings, then Apple Intelligence & Siri, and flip the main toggle off. The switch also removes the on-device models and can reclaim up to 7GB of storage. You can instead keep the suite running and disable single features app by app, notification summaries included.
Mostly, yes. iPhone and iPad owners in the EU gained access with iOS 18.4 in April 2025, in French, German, Italian and Spanish among other languages. The exception is the rebuilt Siri, which launched as an English-only beta and skipped European iPhones and iPads at first, while Macs and Vision Pro received it.
Apple processes most requests directly on the device, and routes heavier tasks to Private Cloud Compute, where it states the data is never stored or made accessible, even to Apple. That design is the company's main pitch against assistants that send everything to standard cloud servers.
Verdict: A mail thread summarized, a stranger wiped from a photo, a call translated live, all without installing or paying anything, that is where Apple Intelligence earns its keep. Anyone on a recent iPhone or M-series Mac gets it at no charge, and picture-heavy projects can pair it with a dedicated generator.
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