Forget Siri: Apple Intelligence's true potential on iPad and Mac lies in third-party apps

Apple is slowly upgrading its entire device lineup to adopt its artificial intelligence features under the Apple Intelligence umbrella. Although progress is going at a snail’s pace for iPads, with the newest iPad base model excluded from the AI features entirely, the company is also highlighting its focus on third-party integrations with Apple Intelligence. 

Some of these integrations have been around since the release of Apple Intelligence, while others are just now reaching their intended potential. 

Also: Why the new $349 iPad is sneakily Apple’s best hardware deal right now

In its current state, Apple Intelligence is limited to relatively simple, almost entry-level features, such as Writing Tools to generate and summarize text and other AI tools for art generation. While the offerings are expected to expand with future updates, you can now use these tools in third-party apps, which often elevates the power of the available Apple Intelligence tools.

For example, you can use Image Playground, Apple’s generative art tool, to generate images within a Final Cut Pro project and then drop these images into the timeline to create a shot list or AI-generated storyboard. This can be done on an iPad, MacBook, or Mac compatible with Apple Intelligence. 

For iPad, you can use your Apple Pencil or Apple Pencil Pro to integrate live drawings and scribbles into third-party apps. You can also elevate your note-taking game: The Notability app for iPad has Apple Intelligence integrations that let you use text generation and image generation features within your notes, Apple Pencil or not. 

Similarly, the Bear notes app supports Apple Intelligence features almost as natively as the Apple Notes app, with some exceptions. With Apple Intelligence within Bear, you can select text, create a table of key points and summaries, and generate images with Image Playground to make content more scannable. 

Also: Is Apple’s new Mac Studio worth the upgrade? Let’s break it down

Morpholio Trace, a designer app for creative professionals, also features integrations powered by AI and the neural engine necessary to support Apple Intelligence. You can run the app on an iPad Air with an M3 processor and enjoy the ease of removing an image’s background with a couple of taps and real-time rendering of complex graphics. 

The new MacBook Air with the Apple M4 chip, iPad Air with the M3 chip, Mac Studio with an M4 Max chip, and M3 Ultra support all advanced graphics architectures. But they are also a great way to test the neural engine’s capabilities with Apple Intelligence.

These tools are more accessible than ever on midrange and high-end Apple devices, making it easier for students, small business owners, creators, and independent contractors to keep their AI running on-device and secure Apple servers.

Also: Tired of waiting for Siri 2.0? Try these advanced AI voice assistants on your iPhone today

While Apple has already released plenty of its promised AI features, we’re looking forward to the iOS 18.5 drop to really see what makes Apple Intelligence stand out. The 18.5 update is a few months from the general release, with the iOS 18.4 update only in beta testing.

iOS 18.5 is expected to bring the more attention-grabbing Siri updates that Apple showcased during its last WWDC event last summer. This is where you’ll be able to use Siri’s touted on-screen awareness, integrations with various native and third-party apps, and a more natural, conversational style that maintains the context of your preferences.