Apple Intelligence's first-wave features, released Thursday, offer only modest improvements that left me excited for the future, but also impatient for it. Why it matters: AI features are shaping up as a key differentiator in choosing a smartphone or computer,

Starting Thursday, those who are enrolled in Apple’s public beta program will be able to experience the generative AI-fueled platform the company has been talking up since June.

Apple has just released public betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, and they include upcoming Apple Intelligence features like text re-writing tools, the glowy new Siri design, a “Clean Up” tool to remove objects from your photos,