Apple is set to launch iOS 18 with a suite of exciting artificial intelligence features that can rewrite your text messages, summarize emails, and even identify objects in photos.
However, the most intriguing feature is undoubtedly "Image Playground," an application that can generate cartoon-style illustrations based on text prompts.
It's worth noting that despite showcasing many examples of this app during their product launch, we have yet to see real-world use cases until now.
Recently, Apple exclusively shared an image generated by Image Playground with WIRED, marking the first time they've shown this technology outside of marketing materials. The image features a cute dog named Bailey wearing a party hat, smiling next to a birthday cake. Bailey is the beloved pet of Apple's Senior Vice President, Craig Federighi, who used the app to create this illustration for his wife's birthday celebration.
In an interview with WIRED journalist Lily Hay Newman, Federighi mentioned this illustration and also introduced Apple's private cloud computing environment, ensuring the security of AI task requests that cannot be handled on user devices. Apple later shared the image.
To ensure transparency, WIRED marks AI-generated images with a watermark when publishing them.
As generative AI tools are increasingly integrated into software by major tech companies including Microsoft, Google, and Meta, all focusing on productivity and creativity, Apple is also emphasizing practical AI features in iOS 18, alongside some purely fun applications, with Image Playground being a prime example.
This app can be used standalone or accessed within the Messages app. To generate an image, you can input a description, select a photo, or choose from preset concepts, and even select from three styles: illustration, sketch, or animation.
It's important to note that this generative AI feature is not yet available in the beta version. While other AI features are present in the iOS 18.1 developer beta, output examples of Image Playground and Gemoji are still strictly controlled by Apple. Until these features are officially released, Federighi's dog photo is the most authentic example we have seen!
Key Points:
🐶 Apple's first release of an AI-generated image, featuring the executive's dog Bailey.
🎨 "Image Playground" can generate cartoon-style illustrations based on text prompts, adding fun.
📱 iOS 18 integrates various AI features and is expected to be officially released soon.
