iOS 26 Apple Intelligence Features: Full Guide to New AI Tools (2025)

Apple is finally rolling out its long-awaited iOS 26 Apple Intelligence Features. And while other companies are racing into AI with chatbots and cloud-based models, Apple is taking a much different approach, building a set of practical, privacy-first features directly into the iPhone. If you’re wondering what exactly Apple Intelligence does, which iPhones support it, and whether any of this actually matters to your day-to-day iPhone use, you’re in the right place.

What Is Apple Intelligence?

Apple Intelligence is Apple’s take on generative AI. Instead of focusing on big chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini, Apple is baking AI directly into your iPhone, iPad, and Mac to handle everyday tasks faster, smarter, and—most importantly—with your privacy fully protected.

The majority of Apple Intelligence features run directly on your device, thanks to the power of the latest A17 Pro chips and Apple’s custom neural engines. For more advanced tasks that require heavier processing, Apple uses its new Private Cloud Compute system. This allows certain data to be processed on Apple’s servers without logging or storing your personal information.

Unlike cloud AI systems that monetize your data, Apple’s approach keeps your information isolated and locked down.

iOS 26 Apple Intelligence Features: Full List

Here’s a full breakdown of what Apple Intelligence brings to the table inside iOS 26.

Live Translation (Calls, FaceTime, and Messages)

One of the most practical additions is Live Translation during calls, FaceTime, and even inside Messages. As you’re speaking with someone in another language, your iPhone can instantly translate both sides of the conversation, displaying subtitles in real-time. The entire process happens on-device, protecting your conversations from being sent to the cloud.

Visual Intelligence (Screenshot Intelligence)

Apple is making your screenshots much smarter. With Screenshot Intelligence, your iPhone can now analyze screenshots as you take them and offer immediate actions:

• Extract and copy text
• Recognize phone numbers, dates, and addresses
• Suggest calendar events or reminders
• Instantly search or map extracted content

For trickier questions or deeper insights, Apple even allows integration with ChatGPT (only if you opt in), giving you richer context when needed.

Mixmoji & Image Playground

MixMoji is Apple’s latest evolution of Genmoji inside iOS 26. While Genmoji let you create simple AI-powered emojis before, MixMoji takes things much further by allowing you to blend multiple emoji elements and styles into fully customized, animated emoji characters. You can mix facial expressions, props, and visual styles to create far more personal reactions directly inside Messages.

Meanwhile, Image Playground has also been upgraded. While it’s been around for a few versions now, iOS 26 expands its capabilities with tighter app integrations and new creative options. Most notably, Apple has added ChatGPT-powered style suggestions into Image Playground, allowing users to choose from a wider range of image styles and refine results with AI assistance. This allows for much more dynamic and varied image generation while still keeping processing on-device or private cloud.

Both MixMoji and Image Playground continue Apple’s trend of building fun, practical AI features directly into your existing apps without needing standalone AI platforms.

AI-Powered Shortcuts & Siri Upgrades

While Apple’s full Siri language model isn’t launching until late 2025, you’re already seeing powerful AI integrations inside the Shortcuts app:

• Summarize large blocks of text or emails
• Generate images automatically
• Create advanced automation flows using natural language commands
• Build personal assistant routines without complex scripting

Once Siri’s full AI brain arrives, expect much tighter integration across your entire system.

Smart Delivery Tracking in Wallet

Apple Intelligence can automatically scan your inbox for order confirmations and shipment tracking details. Once identified, your packages appear inside the Wallet app, showing real-time delivery progress without requiring you to manually enter tracking numbers.

Foundation Models for Developers

Developers aren’t being left out. Apple is opening access to its on-device foundation models, allowing third-party apps to use generative AI directly on your iPhone without sending data off-device. Expect apps to roll out smarter text generation, summarization, and content creation tools using Apple’s models under the hood.

Which iPhones Support iOS 26 Apple Intelligence Features?

Apple Intelligence isn’t available on every iPhone running iOS 26. Right now, the hardware requirements are strict because of the processing power needed to handle on-device AI.

You need one of the following devices to use Apple Intelligence features:

• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 series (all models)
• iPhone 17 series (when released)

If you’re using an older iPhone (like iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 15 standard), you can still install iOS 26, but you won’t get access to Apple Intelligence features.

Privacy & On-Device Processing

One of Apple’s biggest selling points with Apple Intelligence is privacy. Here’s how it works:

• On-device first: Most tasks happen locally on your iPhone using the Neural Engine.
• Private Cloud Compute: If the task is too complex, data is temporarily processed on Apple’s servers without logging or linking the data back to your Apple ID.
• Zero ad targeting: Apple Intelligence features are not tied to ads or marketing profiling.

In short, Apple wants to deliver AI while avoiding the privacy headaches we’ve seen with other AI platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions About iOS 26 Apple Intelligence Features

What are Apple Intelligence features?

Apple Intelligence is Apple’s suite of on-device AI tools built into iOS 26, offering translation, image generation, screenshot analysis, text summarization, delivery tracking, and more.

Which iPhones support Apple Intelligence?

Only iPhones with an A17 Pro chip or newer, including iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 series, and future iPhone 17 models.

Does Apple Intelligence cost extra?

No. Apple Intelligence features are included with iOS 26 at no extra cost, as long as your device supports it.

How is Apple Intelligence different from ChatGPT or Gemini?

Apple Intelligence runs mostly on-device for privacy, handles practical system-wide tasks, and is deeply integrated into apps you already use, unlike standalone chatbots.

Wrapping Up

Apple Intelligence in iOS 26 feels very Apple: cautious, privacy-focused, and deeply integrated rather than flashy and experimental. While it may not grab headlines the way ChatGPT or Gemini do, Apple’s system-level AI actually solves real problems for iPhone users—and does it without sacrificing your privacy.

As new betas roll out and Siri gets its full AI upgrade later in 2025, expect Apple Intelligence to grow into a much bigger part of your daily iPhone experience.

Tony Simons

Tony has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix and over 14 years of writing experience between multiple publications in the tech, photography, lifestyle, and deal industries.