Apple Intelligence: Aussie cane toads, kangaroos stump Image Playground

Image Playground is one of the most fun new features of Apple Intelligence, but how good it is in coming close to reality? We put it to the test.

We put Image Playground, which is available as part of Apple Intelligence, to the test to create some Aussie imagery.

Image Playground is one of the most fun new features of Apple Intelligence, but how good it is in coming close to reality?

We’ve been playing with it for a few days now, and the results, range from superb to just silly.

While Apple says it’s latest AI, released last week, has been specifically designed for the Australian market, Image Playground really struggles with our national icon, the kangaroo.

The animation features something that looks more like rabbit ears. It’s cute but not close.

Ask it to do a cane toad and it comes up with a frog, while a shark jumping out of the water seems to have a few too many fins.

This is meant to be a cane toad, not quite. Created by Image Playground.

Get it to do something like K’gari (Fraser Island) it comes up everything from an animated animal (it must think it is a cartoon or movie character) while even Fraser Island has buildings on it and a mountain backdrop. It seems the world’s largest sand island is not on the AI radar quite yet.

We typed in K'gari for the Queensland island and this is what we got with Apple's Image Playground.

It does better with landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, especially when you combine it with a theme like fireworks, or Brisbane’s Story Bridge with a starry sky.

When it comes to people, it is hit and miss. Sometimes you get a very close likeness, other times, it looks nothing like them.

Not sure Image Playground has got this shark quite right.

Image Playground can sometimes really struggle with eyes, for example.

Even when you put a photo in it will change eye colours or the eyes won’t look quite right.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY OF CREATIONS BELOW

Iconic Aussie animations created with Apple’s Image Playground

VIEW GALLERY

And when it comes to hair, it seems to be believe that everyone wants hair, even if you put a bald photo in.

But again, other times it gets it spot on.

As the name suggests, it is a playground, and it doesn’t take long to try again or tell it to change eye colours or add new features such a hat, sunglasses, a beanie or a hard-hat.

I started playing with over the weekend and sending my friends some of the creations, based on photos of them.

The creations generated plenty of laughter, with some amazed how accurate they were.

Fraser Island (now K'gari) had Apple's Image Playground stumped for reality.

It wasn’t long before there was a flurry of messages with suggestions for changes. Lucky there was not much action in the cricket with all the rain.

As Apple has explained Image Playground – which offers both animation and illustration options – is not designed to be photo realistic but rather just fun.

And so far it’s been a lot of that.

A good mate with his deadlocks from a previous photo. Image Playground struggled to get the eyes right.

Half the fun is just typing in something and seeing what it will generate – from a koala on a surfboard – to a crocodile in a city.

You can start with literally nothing – just a line of text – or start with a photo from your photo library.

Some things it just won’t do, obviously guided by parameters put in as part of its development.

If you try to do something it won’t allow (for example violence or more risque content) you will get “unable to use that description”.

It going to be interesting to see where it heads next – and whether future updates will give us proper cane toads and kangaroos.

‘Deeply personal’: Why Apple says its AI will bring joy to Aussies

Can artificial intelligence really bring us joy? Create emotion? Enhance creativity and be deeply personal, useful, intelligent and contextual?

If Apple Intelligence delivers on just some of the hype when it is launched in Australia today, the answer will be yes to many.

But for it to really work in a meaningful way, we have to divulge personal information – the names of our family members, for example, to create beautiful memories or find that photo of our son when he caught his first fish – or even a specific moment in a video.

And that’s a trade off, especially for those increasingly concerned about the rapid advancement of AI and how much tech giants like Meta and Google already know about us.

How do we know the information we are sharing is not going beyond our devices?

For a company that has traded on its privacy and security credentials, it’s probably the biggest challenge Apple has had to take on: creating meaningful AI while protecting the data of its users.

“I think one of the things that we want people to understand about the power of Apple Intelligence is that it can be joyful, it can be emotional, it can be impactful in really amazing ways,’’ Apple’s vice president of worldwide product marketing Bob Borchers says.

In an exclusive interview with this publication in Australia, Borchers stresses the importance of finding the balance – and getting it right – rather than rushing out something just because others are already offering generative AI.

And he’s also keen to point out how different Apple Intelligence is with extra security, including a new private cloud for bigger AI applications.

“It’s this kind of comprehensive capability and the fact that it’s woven throughout the system that I think is going to really surprise and excite people when they just discover some of these new capabilities.”

Apple Intelligence has launched in Australia with a whole new set of tools and fun applications to play with. It is compatible with the latest iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Some of the more popular things include being able to summarise your emails and messages, help you write better, create stunning images and emojis – on the fly – as you are in your favourite applications.

Apple Intelligence will proofread your email, fix your grammar and spelling, and tell you why it is suggesting changes, and even make something simple like a games’ night invitation sound more exciting.

Siri has been supercharged as part of the changes allowing it to better follow what you are asking, even when you stumble over your words, while it can also draw on the power of ChatGPT to answer questions.

Probably one of the most useful features is that it now offers the ability to show you how to do something using your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

That could include everything from how to take a portrait photo or create a memory, or use Live mode to take really cool long exposures. Or it might be how to set up your new AirTags before travelling.

Apple Intelligence promises to create more meaningful and moving memories from your photo library – if you let it.

Most of Apple Intelligence functions are done on device and even when more powerful AI models are needed to enhance your queries, Apple’s Private Cloud Compute ensures users’ data is not stored or shared with Apple.

Apple has allowed independent experts to inspect the code that runs on Apple silicon servers to verify the privacy of its users in what is an ongoing audit process.

It’s even offering a $US1 million reward to anyone who can exposes any privacy breaches.

SO WHAT CAN APPLE INTELLIGENCE OFFER ME?

Imagine you are travelling to a new region and you want a quick guide to the best places for native animal experiences.

Siri will give you a summary, saving you from wading through pages of web results, and you can ask more questions like ‘what has the best rating’ to get more information.

If you are on your trip, and see something you want to know more about, you can long press on the new camera control button on the latest iPhones to activate visual intelligence which can quickly provide you with Google search results.

One of the handiest features for the new Siri is being able to type in your queries or requests, allowing you to set a reminder without disturbing a meeting you’re in.

Image Playground is probably the most fun and creative addition, allowing people to generate an illustration in seconds just by describing it.

Image Playground promises to be a fun, creative way of generating images using Apple Intelligence.

Icons underneath allow you to add other visual elements like stars, or mountains.

The images are not designed to look like photos, but more like animations. But they are good enough to use in publications, on websites, promotional material, party invites or even books.

Apple says you own the copyright to anything you create.

Genmoji promises to take messaging and social media commentary to a new level. Just ask to create an emoji of an koala bearing a Christmas gift or a crocodile on a surfboard.

You can even personalise them more using images of family from your own photo library.

Given my mum’s love of using GIFs as comments on my social media posts, it’s something I might keep from her for now.

For photographers, one of the best features, already available, is the image clean up function.

It recognises something that might be spoiling your shot (like a person in the background or an object in the foreground).

Siri has been supercharged by Apple Intelligence which is now available for the latest Apple devices in Australia and New Zealand.

It can be easily removed and the background around the image filled in, including things like shadows.

It’s a feature which has been available on Samsung and Google devices for a long time, but it’s something that Apple definitely does better.

One of the handiest features of AI is transcription and translation services.

For example, we recorded our interview using voice recorder and then got it to provide a transcription. You can also do the same with a recording of a phone call (which the other party is automatically notified about).

Imagine for example, you get a diagnosis of a complicated medical situation and you need to convey it to the family. A transcription certainly helps in that scenario.

‘POWERFUL, INTUITIVE, EASY TO USE’

Bob Borchers, who has been with Apple since the days of the first iPhone, describes Apple Intelligence as the start of a new era for Apple products and its customers.

“We think of Apple Intelligence as being a foundational kind of technology that is going to deliver powerful, helpful, intuitive, easy to use personal experiences that are built on a rock solid foundation of privacy.

“We are fully committed to being transparent … and delivering privacy at every step of the way.

“But we’re also committed to making sure that the experiences you have are just woven throughout our operating systems and our experiences and are available wherever you are.

“In writing tools, if you’ve got a blinking cursor … you know you have access to all of that right there.”

Apple Intelligence will allow you to quickly find photos by just describing them.

While Siri already has vast knowledge of its own for deeper or more complicated queries it can go to ChatGPT, or Google, in a ‘very natural, fluid way’.

A pop-up notification lets you know you are using ChatGPT.

Borchers says Apple had given its customers complete control over how much information, or how little they choose to share.

“So if you haven’t named somebody (in your photos), maybe that’s because you didn’t want to name that person and so fine, we will abide by that.

“So we’re looking for the user to continue to stay involved and feel like they’re in control and that things aren’t just happening.’’

DESIGNED FOR AUSTRALIAN CULTURE, LANGUAGE

Borchers said Apple had done a lot of work to ensure that Apple Intelligence worked in an Australian culture well known for its slang and colourful use of language.

Apple Intelligence, which is now in Australia and New Zealand, offers a suite of writing tools which are built into applications like email and messages.

“One of the things that we recognise is that every culture is unique. The language actually may be roughly the same, but the cultures are very, very different.

“And so when we go and bring Apple Intelligence to a region, it’s very important to us that we do it in a way that’s consistent with the culture.

“We take the time to build the models, to train the models, specifically for each country.

‘Those are the details that we really focus on and sweat to make sure that what we’re delivering to you is consistent with the kind of world in which you live.’’

Borchers rejects suggestions Apple has been slow to deliver on AI.

“We’ve been investing in developing and utilising AI for many, many years.

Apple first unveiled some of its Apple Intelligence features, including a ‘glowing’ Siri interface as part of the "It's Glowtime" event in Cupertino, California on September 9, 2024. The latest iPhones, iPads, Mac and Macbooks are built for generative artificial intelligence. (Photo by Nic Coury / AFP)

“When it comes to these generative models and Apple Intelligence, we’re less focused on how quickly something comes out and more focused on doing it in a way that is useful, that’s helpful, that’s intuitive, personal and private.

“In doing that requires focus, it requires time, it requires investment.

“At Apple, we’re proud that we deliver products and technologies when they’re ready.

“That’s our highest priority.”

“I think one of the real superpowers of Apple intelligence is that it is available wherever you are.

“So, if you are a mum who is busy scheduling your day, who has a whole lot of group texts going on, Apple Intelligence is there, whether it’s summarising and prioritising those notifications as they come in, making sure that you can quickly add things to your calendar or remove them.

“I think whether you’re somebody who is new to tech or somebody who is expert in tech, you’re gonna be able to take advantage of Apple Intelligence.’’