NEW YORK, Oct 29: Apple has officially launched its long-awaited artificial intelligence (AI) tools for iPhone users, but access is currently limited to a select group. Announced in June, the suite known as Apple Intelligence became available on Monday for owners of certain iPhones worldwide. Users can access the tools by updating to the latest version of Apple's operating system.

To utilize Apple Intelligence, interested users must request to join a waitlist after updating to iOS 18.1. According to Apple, users can expect to activate the AI tools "within a few hours" of joining the waitlist, although wait times may vary.

The newly introduced features include notification summaries, tools to assist users in composing messages, and an upgraded interface for the virtual assistant Siri. However, these features are exclusive to the latest devices, including all iPhone 16 models and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Apple Intelligence is also available on Mac computers and iPad tablets equipped with the latest chips.

Despite the rollout, some of the tools released on Monday have debuted later than similar features offered by other popular devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the public release of these AI tools signifies "a new era" for the company's products. This announcement comes shortly after Apple revealed plans to reward ethical hackers who can identify vulnerabilities in its AI software with bounties of up to $1 million (£770,000).

The features introduced on Monday as part of the iOS 18.1 update represent the first wave of AI tools previously showcased at Apple's summer developer conference. Additional features, such as the ability to generate images and emojis from text prompts, are expected to be introduced later this year.

In comparison, Google and Samsung have already implemented AI features in their devices, such as real-time conversation translation, automatic note organization, and online searches initiated by drawing a circle around an item. Initially, Samsung limited its Galaxy AI features to the latest handsets but has since expanded availability to S22 devices released in 2022. The South Korean tech giant has announced plans to introduce Galaxy AI to over 100 million users by 2024.

Additionally, Apple's new Clean Up tool, which allows users to remove unwanted objects or people from images, follows the earlier release of a similar tool called Magic Eraser by Google. Mr. Cook noted in an October interview with the Wall Street Journal that Apple is "perfectly fine with not being first," emphasizing that "it takes a while to get it really great."