Not Ready to Upgrade? How to Power Your Current iPhone with AI
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Apple officially announced the release of its new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models at Monday’s Glowtime event. While the iPhone 16 won’t be shipped with Apple Intelligence ready to go, Apple’s AI features will be released more slowly, starting with iOS 18.1 next month.
When it finally does arrive, Apple Intelligence will only be supported on six iPhone models: all the new iPhone 16 models plus the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. While many more iPhone models will support iOS 18, ex-Apple employee Tyler Morgan urged those with older iPhones to seriously consider the downsides of upgrading to iOS 18.
For many of us, upgrading to the iPhone 16 immediately might not be in the cards. Even with Apple’s decent trade-in program, trading in an iPhone 13 Pro in solid condition still leaves a gap of well over $500 for the cheapest iPhone 16.
If you fall into this group and are hesitant to update to iOS 18 based on Mr. Morgan’s warnings, you could feel left out. The good news is that it’s still possible to enjoy similar AI benefits and hang on to your older iPhone until you’re ready to upgrade with just a few third-party apps. Here they are.
AI Apps for Your iPhone
Writing Tools and Summarizing Text: Apple states with Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools, “users can refine their words by rewriting, proofreading and summarizing text” across Apple apps and third-party apps.
ChatGPT from OpenAI is the most recognized AI chatbot. It’s also providing some of the AI behind Apple Intelligence. However, ChatGPT makes an iPhone app and a Mac app. There’s a free version in addition to a paid version for $20/month (which includes image generation).
Another under-the-radar writing companion is Wordtune from AI21 Labs. It’s used by over 10 million people. It can be used to help rewrite or rephrase emails, create documents, create text messages, summarize complex articles, and translate and rewrite simultaneously. After a free trial, it’s $9.99/month.
Arc Search is a powerful and free text summary tools that condenses complex webpages into “concise insights” with the ease of a “Pinch to Summarize” feature. Arc Search also touts that it has always-on ad blocking and a “reader mode” to minimize distractions.
Photo Editing: Apple Intelligence is bringing a new Clean Up tool to Photos that can remove unwanted objects without altering the subject. For over a year, Google’s Photos app for iPhone has included a Magic Eraser tool as part of its advanced photo editing suite. To use it, simply open a photo, select Edit, and choose the Magic Eraser. Next, simply circle the any distractions (or people) and they’ll disappear.
Image Generation: Apple Intelligence will include image generation features like Genmoji and Image Playground. However, many other AI image-generation tools are already available. ChatGPT includes its own image generator, Dall-E, and it’s now free to use for up to two images each month without paying for a subscription. If you have WhatsApp or Instagram, you already have access to Meta AI, Meta’s free chatbot that can generate any image you can “imagine” simply by typing “/Imagine” followed by whatever you can think of.
While we understand it’s likely not as convenient to use multiple apps instead of those features already baked into your new iPhone or iOS 18, you’re likely to get many of the same benefits through third-party apps. Sure, the user experience probably won’t be as smooth, and there might be some monthly fees involved, but it’s a decent substitute for making huge purchases or slowing down your otherwise perfectly great existing iPhone. Only you can decide.
