An AI Skeptic Implements Apple Intelligence - ARCtic Swift, Oulu, Finland, March 2025

Sample code: https://github.com/designatednerd/AppleIntelligenceExamples

A review of the current state of AI from someone who's a bit skeptical of the hype, followed by some concrete pointers about how to use the currently (as of March 2025) available features of Apple Intelligence™.

Transcript

1. An AI Skeptic Implements Apple Intelligence™ ARCtic Swift | Oulu, Finland | March 2025 Ellen Shapiro | mastodon.social/designatednerd | figma.com
2. via https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-says-some-ai-improvements-siri-delayed-2026-2025-03-07/
3. See you next year!
5. !
6. Why be a skeptic?
7. !
9. https://www.redbubble.com/i/greeting-card/3-Raccoons-In-A-Trench-Coat-by-Darkstiella/56605118.5MT14
12. !
15. via https://www.zdnet.com/article/deepseek-challenges-openais-o1-in-chain-of-thought-but-its-missing-a-few-links/
16. via https://www.zdnet.com/article/deepseek-challenges-openais-o1-in-chain-of-thought-but-its-missing-a-few-links/
18. via https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.05229
19. via https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.05229
21. via https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31/llms-in-2024/
23. via https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/07/openai-operator-ai-agent-chatgpt/
28. cf. @ben@m.benui.ca
29. via https://www.404media.co/email/855bf870-82ce-4544-8776-2225627fa39d/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter
30. via https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00616-z
31. via https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-mistakes-schneier
32. via https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-mistakes-schneier
33. !
34. via https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ai_bots_hallucinate_software_packages/
35. via [https://www.404media.co/email/1e37ba3d-982b-480c-ba8a-e8c9bc807899/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter
38. ! "
43. ! "
44. Adding Apple Intelligence™ to your apps
45. https://github.com/designatednerd/ AppleIntelligenceExamples
46. Image Playground
47. UIKit ImagePlaygroundViewController.isAvailable
48. UIKit ImagePlaygroundViewController.isAvailable SwiftUI @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground
49. On-Device Only
57. import ImagePlayground public struct ImagePlaygroundView: View { @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground @State private var imagePlaygroundIsPresented: Bool = false @State private var text: String = "" @State var generatedImageURL: URL? private let prompt = "Enter text here..." public var body: some View { VStack { Text("What do you want the image playground to generate?") TextField("Do it!", text: self.$text, prompt: Text(self.prompt)) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) if self.supportsImagePlayground { Button("GENERATE", action: { self.imagePlaygroundIsPresented = true }) } if let generatedImageURL { AsyncImage(url: generatedImageURL) { image in image .resizable().scaledToFit() .frame(width: 300, height: 300) } placeholder: { ProgressView() } } } .imagePlaygroundSheet(isPresented: self.$imagePlaygroundIsPresented, concept: self.text, onCompletion: { url in self.generatedImageURL = url })
58. import ImagePlayground public struct ImagePlaygroundView: View { @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground @State private var imagePlaygroundIsPresented: Bool = false @State private var text: String = "" @State var generatedImageURL: URL? private let prompt = "Enter text here..." public var body: some View { VStack { Text("What do you want the image playground to generate?") TextField("Do it!", text: self.$text, prompt: Text(self.prompt)) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) if self.supportsImagePlayground { Button("GENERATE", action: { self.imagePlaygroundIsPresented = true }) } if let generatedImageURL { AsyncImage(url: generatedImageURL) { image in image .resizable().scaledToFit() .frame(width: 300, height: 300) } placeholder: { ProgressView() } } } .imagePlaygroundSheet(isPresented: self.$imagePlaygroundIsPresented, concept: self.text, onCompletion: { url in self.generatedImageURL = url })
59. import ImagePlayground public struct ImagePlaygroundView: View { @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground @State private var imagePlaygroundIsPresented: Bool = false @State private var text: String = "" @State var generatedImageURL: URL? private let prompt = "Enter text here..." public var body: some View { VStack { Text("What do you want the image playground to generate?") TextField("Do it!", text: self.$text, prompt: Text(self.prompt)) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) if self.supportsImagePlayground { Button("GENERATE", action: { self.imagePlaygroundIsPresented = true }) } if let generatedImageURL { AsyncImage(url: generatedImageURL) { image in image .resizable().scaledToFit() .frame(width: 300, height: 300) } placeholder: { ProgressView() } } } .imagePlaygroundSheet(isPresented: self.$imagePlaygroundIsPresented, concept: self.text, onCompletion: { url in self.generatedImageURL = url })
60. import ImagePlayground public struct ImagePlaygroundView: View { @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground @State private var imagePlaygroundIsPresented: Bool = false @State private var text: String = "" @State var generatedImageURL: URL? private let prompt = "Enter text here..." public var body: some View { VStack { Text("What do you want the image playground to generate?") TextField("Do it!", text: self.$text, prompt: Text(self.prompt)) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) if self.supportsImagePlayground { Button("GENERATE", action: { self.imagePlaygroundIsPresented = true }) } if let generatedImageURL { AsyncImage(url: generatedImageURL) { image in image .resizable().scaledToFit() .frame(width: 300, height: 300) } placeholder: { ProgressView() } } } .imagePlaygroundSheet(isPresented: self.$imagePlaygroundIsPresented, concept: self.text, onCompletion: { url in self.generatedImageURL = url })
61. import ImagePlayground public struct ImagePlaygroundView: View { @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground @State private var imagePlaygroundIsPresented: Bool = false @State private var text: String = "" @State var generatedImageURL: URL? private let prompt = "Enter text here..." public var body: some View { VStack { Text("What do you want the image playground to generate?") TextField("Do it!", text: self.$text, prompt: Text(self.prompt)) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) if self.supportsImagePlayground { Button("GENERATE", action: { self.imagePlaygroundIsPresented = true }) } if let generatedImageURL { AsyncImage(url: generatedImageURL) { image in image .resizable().scaledToFit() .frame(width: 300, height: 300) } placeholder: { ProgressView() } } } .imagePlaygroundSheet(isPresented: self.$imagePlaygroundIsPresented, concept: self.text, onCompletion: { url in self.generatedImageURL = url })
62. import ImagePlayground public struct ImagePlaygroundView: View { @Environment(\.supportsImagePlayground) var supportsImagePlayground @State private var imagePlaygroundIsPresented: Bool = false @State private var text: String = "" @State var generatedImageURL: URL? private let prompt = "Enter text here..." public var body: some View { VStack { Text("What do you want the image playground to generate?") TextField("Do it!", text: self.$text, prompt: Text(self.prompt)) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) if self.supportsImagePlayground { Button("GENERATE", action: { self.imagePlaygroundIsPresented = true }) } if let generatedImageURL { AsyncImage(url: generatedImageURL) { image in image .resizable().scaledToFit() .frame(width: 300, height: 300) } placeholder: { ProgressView() } } } .imagePlaygroundSheet(isPresented: self.$imagePlaygroundIsPresented, concept: self.text, onCompletion: { url in self.generatedImageURL = url })
64. Genmoji integration
66. Image Playground: "An orange bird with nerd glasses"
67. Image Playground: "An orange bird with nerd glasses"
68. Genmoji: "An orange bird with nerd glasses"
69. Genmoji: "An orange bird with nerd glasses"
70. NSAdaptiveImageGlyph
71. Display: Easy!
72. // iOS 18+ and friends textView.supportsAdaptiveImageGlyph = true
73. // iOS 18+ and friends textView.supportsAdaptiveImageGlyph = true or // iOS textView.pasteConfiguration = // something that supports images
74. // iOS 18+ and friends textView.supportsAdaptiveImageGlyph = true or // iOS textView.pasteConfiguration = // something that supports images or // macOS textView.importsGraphics = true
75. Storage: o̵͙̠ ̔́̌̎́ h̵̨̗̫̤ ̿̑̋̓ ̵̨̡̜̠̱͈̳ ͛̈́͗̑̀ n̸̫̹ ͊̓͗̏̽̐̆͆ ọ̸͚͇̻̥̟ ͊̈͂
76. Emoji: Unicode text
77. Emoji: Unicode text Genmoji: Rasterized Bitmaps
78. Saving as RTFD
79. Saving as RTFD (D is for Directory)
80. D is not for Data
81. Saving as RTFD let rtfFileWrapper = try self.content.fileWrapper( from: NSRange(location: 0, length: self.content.length), documentAttributes: [ .documentType: NSAttributedString.DocumentType.rtfd, .characterEncoding: String.Encoding.utf8 ]) let fileURL = URL(filePath: "test.rtfd", directoryHint: .inferFromPath, relativeTo: .documentsDirectory) try rtfFileWrapper.write(to: fileURL, originalContentsURL: nil) via https://stackoverflow.com/a/23607696/681493
82. RTFD Directory Contents [ // Raw RTF file [docs directory]/test.rtfd/TXT.rtf, // HEIC image of the Genmoji™ [docs directory]/test.rtfd/AdaptiveImageGlyph-BD50F0F2-FE0C-4657-AF91-5C898F1DDB120.heic ]
83. Reading RTFD let directoryURL = URL(filePath: "test.rtfd", relativeTo: .documentsDirectory) let loadedString = try NSMutableAttributedString( url: directoryURL, options: [ .documentType: NSAttributedString.DocumentType.rtfd, ], documentAttributes: nil) let wholeRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: loadedString.length) loadedString.addAttributes( [.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 36)], range: wholeRange)
84. Reading RTFD let directoryURL = URL(filePath: "test.rtfd", relativeTo: .documentsDirectory) let loadedString = try NSMutableAttributedString( url: directoryURL, options: [ .documentType: NSAttributedString.DocumentType.rtfd, ], documentAttributes: nil) let wholeRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: loadedString.length) loadedString.addAttributes( [.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 36)], range: wholeRange)
85. Reading RTFD let directoryURL = URL(filePath: "test.rtfd", relativeTo: .documentsDirectory) let loadedString = try NSMutableAttributedString( url: directoryURL, options: [ .documentType: NSAttributedString.DocumentType.rtfd, ], documentAttributes: nil) let wholeRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: loadedString.length) loadedString.addAttributes( [.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 36)], range: wholeRange)
87. Reading RTFD let directoryURL = URL(filePath: "test.rtfd", relativeTo: .documentsDirectory) let loadedString = try NSMutableAttributedString( url: directoryURL, options: [ .documentType: NSAttributedString.DocumentType.rtfd, ], documentAttributes: nil) let wholeRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: loadedString.length) loadedString.addAttributes( [.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 200)], range: wholeRange)
89. Saving as HTML let htmlFileWrapper = try self.content.fileWrapper( from: NSRange(location: 0, length: self.content.length), documentAttributes: [ .documentType: NSAttributedString.DocumentType.html, ]) let fileURL = URL(filePath: "test.html", directoryHint: .inferFromPath, relativeTo: .documentsDirectory) try htmlFileWrapper.write(to: fileURL, originalContentsURL: nil)
90. HTML Directory Contents [ // The actual HTML that was output [docs directory]/test.html/index.html, // The genmoji as a PNG file [docs directory]/test.html/Attachment.png, // The genmoji as an HEIC file [docs directory]/test.html/AdaptiveImageGlyph-BD50F0F2-FE0C-4657-AF91-5C898F1DDB120.heic ]
91. Output HTML <body> <p class="p1"> <span class="s1">Hello HTML <picture> <source srcset="file:///AdaptiveImageGlyph-BD50F0F2-FE0C-4657-AF91-5C898F1DDB120.heic" type="image/x-apple-adaptive-glyph"> <img src="file:///Attachment.png" alt="Orange bird with nerd glasses"> </picture> </span> </p> </body>
92. Output HTML <body> <p class="p1"> <span class="s1">Hello HTML <picture> <source srcset="file:///AdaptiveImageGlyph-BD50F0F2-FE0C-4657-AF91-5C898F1DDB120.heic" type="image/x-apple-adaptive-glyph"> <img src="file:///Attachment.png" alt="Orange bird with nerd glasses"> </picture> </span> </p> </body>
93. Output HTML <body> <p class="p1"> <span class="s1">Hello HTML <picture> <source srcset="file:///AdaptiveImageGlyph-BD50F0F2-FE0C-4657-AF91-5C898F1DDB120.heic" type="image/x-apple-adaptive-glyph"> <img src="file:///Attachment.png" alt="Orange bird with nerd glasses"> </picture> </span> </p> </body>
94. Output HTML <body> <p class="p1"> <span class="s1">Hello HTML <picture> <source srcset="file:///AdaptiveImageGlyph-BD50F0F2-FE0C-4657-AF91-5C898F1DDB120.heic" type="image/x-apple-adaptive-glyph"> <img src="file:///Attachment.png" alt="Orange bird with nerd glasses"> </picture> </span> </p> </body>
95. Rendered Fallback HTML
96. Writing Tools
99. TextKit 1 vs. TextKit 2
105. textView.allowedWritingToolsResultOptions = [ .list, .plainText, .richText, ]
115. Is a TK2 transition worth it?
117. WARNING: OPINION
118. WARNING: OPINION (totally not worth it just for writing tools)
119. Translation API
121. LanguageAvailability().supportedLanguages
122. import Translation @Observable class LanguageFetcher { var availableLanguages: [LanguagePair] = [] private let languageAvailability = LanguageAvailability() let usEnglish = Locale(languageComponents: Locale.Language.Components(identifier: "en_US")) func getAvailableLanguages() async { let availableLanguages = await self.languageAvailability.supportedLanguages for language in availableLanguages { let status = await self.languageAvailability.status( from: language, to: self.usEnglish.language) self.availableLanguages.append(LanguagePair(language: language, status: status)) } } }
123. import Translation @Observable class LanguageFetcher { var availableLanguages: [LanguagePair] = [] private let languageAvailability = LanguageAvailability() let usEnglish = Locale(languageComponents: Locale.Language.Components(identifier: "en_US")) func getAvailableLanguages() async { let availableLanguages = await self.languageAvailability.supportedLanguages for language in availableLanguages { let status = await self.languageAvailability.status( from: language, to: self.usEnglish.language) self.availableLanguages.append(LanguagePair(language: language, status: status)) } } }
124. import Translation @Observable class LanguageFetcher { var availableLanguages: [LanguagePair] = [] private let languageAvailability = LanguageAvailability() let usEnglish = Locale(languageComponents: Locale.Language.Components(identifier: "en_US")) func getAvailableLanguages() async { let availableLanguages = await self.languageAvailability.supportedLanguages for language in availableLanguages { let status = await self.languageAvailability.status( from: language, to: self.usEnglish.language) self.availableLanguages.append(LanguagePair(language: language, status: status)) } } }
125. import Translation @Observable class LanguageFetcher { var availableLanguages: [LanguagePair] = [] private let languageAvailability = LanguageAvailability() let usEnglish = Locale(languageComponents: Locale.Language.Components(identifier: "en_US")) func getAvailableLanguages() async { let availableLanguages = await self.languageAvailability.supportedLanguages for language in availableLanguages { let status = await self.languageAvailability.status( from: language, to: self.usEnglish.language) self.availableLanguages.append(LanguagePair(language: language, status: status)) } } }
126. import Translation @Observable class LanguageFetcher { var availableLanguages: [LanguagePair] = [] private let languageAvailability = LanguageAvailability() let usEnglish = Locale(languageComponents: Locale.Language.Components(identifier: "en_US")) func getAvailableLanguages() async { let availableLanguages = await self.languageAvailability.supportedLanguages for language in availableLanguages { let status = await self.languageAvailability.status( from: language, to: self.usEnglish.language) self.availableLanguages.append(LanguagePair(language: language, status: status)) } } }
133. import SwiftUI import Translation struct TranslateTextView: View { @State private var textToTranslate: String = "" @State private var translatedText: String? @State private var language: Locale.Language? @State private var configuration: TranslationSession.Configuration? var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Language:") // Picker goes here .onChange(of: self.language) { _, _ in self.setUpConfiguration() } TextField("English to translate", text: self.$textToTranslate, prompt: Text("Enter your English text here")) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) Button { self.translate() } // make it blue with a white label if let translatedText { Text("Translation:") Text(translatedText) // add black border } } .translationTask(configuration) { session in do { // Use the session the task provides to translate the text. let response = try await session.translate(self.textToTranslate) // Update the view with the translated result. self.translatedText = response.targetText } catch { // Handle any errors. } } } // MORE }
134. import SwiftUI import Translation struct TranslateTextView: View { @State private var textToTranslate: String = "" @State private var translatedText: String? @State private var language: Locale.Language? @State private var configuration: TranslationSession.Configuration? var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Language:") // Picker goes here .onChange(of: self.language) { _, _ in self.setUpConfiguration() } TextField("English to translate", text: self.$textToTranslate, prompt: Text("Enter your English text here")) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) Button { self.translate() } // make it blue with a white label if let translatedText { Text("Translation:") Text(translatedText) // add black border } } .translationTask(configuration) { session in do { // Use the session the task provides to translate the text. let response = try await session.translate(self.textToTranslate) // Update the view with the translated result. self.translatedText = response.targetText } catch { // Handle any errors. } } } // MORE }
135. import SwiftUI import Translation struct TranslateTextView: View { @State private var textToTranslate: String = "" @State private var translatedText: String? @State private var language: Locale.Language? @State private var configuration: TranslationSession.Configuration? var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Language:") // Picker goes here .onChange(of: self.language) { _, _ in self.setUpConfiguration() } TextField("English to translate", text: self.$textToTranslate, prompt: Text("Enter your English text here")) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) Button { self.translate() } // make it blue with a white label if let translatedText { Text("Translation:") Text(translatedText) // add black border } } .translationTask(configuration) { session in do { // Use the session the task provides to translate the text. let response = try await session.translate(self.textToTranslate) // Update the view with the translated result. self.translatedText = response.targetText } catch { // Handle any errors. } } } // MORE }
136. import SwiftUI import Translation struct TranslateTextView: View { @State private var textToTranslate: String = "" @State private var translatedText: String? @State private var language: Locale.Language? @State private var configuration: TranslationSession.Configuration? var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Language:") // Picker goes here .onChange(of: self.language) { _, _ in self.setUpConfiguration() } TextField("English to translate", text: self.$textToTranslate, prompt: Text("Enter your English text here")) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) Button { self.translate() } // make it blue with a white label if let translatedText { Text("Translation:") Text(translatedText) // add black border } } .translationTask(configuration) { session in do { // Use the session the task provides to translate the text. let response = try await session.translate(self.textToTranslate) // Update the view with the translated result. self.translatedText = response.targetText } catch { // Handle any errors. } } } // MORE }
137. func setUpConfiguration() { // Pass nil for source and/or target to let the framework // automatically determine the language pairing. configuration = TranslationSession .Configuration(source: LanguageFetcher.shared.usEnglish.language, target: self.language) }
139. import SwiftUI import Translation struct TranslateTextView: View { @State private var textToTranslate: String = "" @State private var translatedText: String? @State private var language: Locale.Language? @State private var configuration: TranslationSession.Configuration? var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Language:") // Picker goes here .onChange(of: self.language) { _, _ in self.setUpConfiguration() } TextField("English to translate", text: self.$textToTranslate, prompt: Text("Enter your English text here")) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) Button { self.translate() } // make it blue with a white label if let translatedText { Text("Translation:") Text(translatedText) // add black border } } .translationTask(configuration) { session in do { // Use the session the task provides to translate the text. let response = try await session.translate(self.textToTranslate) // Update the view with the translated result. self.translatedText = response.targetText } catch { // Handle any errors. } } } // MORE }
140. func translate() { if self.configuration != nil { self.configuration?.invalidate() } else { self.setUpConfiguration() } }
141. import SwiftUI import Translation struct TranslateTextView: View { @State private var textToTranslate: String = "" @State private var translatedText: String? @State private var language: Locale.Language? @State private var configuration: TranslationSession.Configuration? var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Language:") // Picker goes here .onChange(of: self.language) { _, _ in self.setUpConfiguration() } TextField("English to translate", text: self.$textToTranslate, prompt: Text("Enter your English text here")) .textFieldStyle(.roundedBorder) Button { self.translate() } // make it blue with a white label if let translatedText { Text("Translation:") Text(translatedText) // add black border } } .translationTask(configuration) { session in do { // Use the session the task provides to translate the text. let response = try await session.translate(self.textToTranslate) // Update the view with the translated result. self.translatedText = response.targetText } catch { // Handle any errors. } } } // MORE }
144. Choose Wisely
145. via https://daringfireball.net/2025/03/apple_is_delaying_the_more_personalized_siri_apple_intelligence_features
146. Your users trust you to decide what to add (and what not to)
147. Obligatory Summary Slide
148. Obligatory Summary Slide → Beware of hype - there is a lot of it
149. Obligatory Summary Slide → Beware of hype - there is a lot of it → Beware of Apple Intelligence's limitations
150. Obligatory Summary Slide → Beware of hype - there is a lot of it → Beware of Apple Intelligence's limitations → You're gonna need a real device
151. Obligatory Summary Slide → Beware of hype - there is a lot of it → Beware of Apple Intelligence's limitations → You're gonna need a real device → Genmojis are easy to display, hard to store
152. Obligatory Summary Slide → Beware of hype - there is a lot of it → Beware of Apple Intelligence's limitations → You're gonna need a real device → Genmojis are easy to display, hard to store → Writing tools theoretically needs TK2, not worth the hassle if you've already got tons of stuff in TK1
153. Obligatory Summary Slide → Beware of hype - there is a lot of it → Beware of Apple Intelligence's limitations → You're gonna need a real device → Genmojis are easy to display, hard to store → Writing tools theoretically needs TK2, not worth the hassle if you've already got tons of stuff in TK1 → Look at what your users actually want
154. ! Kiitos!