Apple Intelligence , which was herald at WWDC 2024 last week , is n’t a feature exclusive to a individual mathematical product , or even a single line of product . It ’s a platform - agnostic mass of features that will be common to the newest editions of the iPhone , iPad , and Mac . As such , it stick out to have a major impact across great swathes of Apple ’s ecosystem . In short , it ’s the futurity of everything ,

But there ’s one important part of the ecosystem that wo n’t be affected , at least not in the first wave of implementation : the Apple Watch . ThewatchOS 11announcement covered customizable pic face , update physical fitness metrics , a smarter Smart Stack , and a new Vitals app , but Apple Intelligence will be kept off the radiocarpal joint for now .

There are reason why Apple may have felt obliged to make this decision , including the watch ’s generally weaker specs and connectivity , and its lesser power to handle the processing tasks ask . But it still strikes me as a shame , because the Apple Watch is where actual intelligence would be most valuable .

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Apple Intelligence won’t run on Apple Watch when it launches this fall.

Take Siri , for example . On the iPhone , iPad , and Mac , Siri is a handy selection that salve you some typewriting or a few clicks ; but on the Apple Watch , it ’s a lifesaver because all of the watch ’s controls are fiddly and accessed via a minuscule sieve or a couple of bantam buttons . On a laptop computer , background , or lozenge , a spokesperson assistant is a lavishness , and even Apple ’s smartphones are roomy enough these twenty-four hour period to contend without . It ’s on the gadget with tiny screens ( or no usable screen at all , such as the HomePod ) where Siri becomes a close - requisite , and where itslamentable performanceup to now is felt most keenly .

A expectant ability to understand lifelike language patterns , awareness of context , a more forgiving approach to fault and mispronounced words … all of these things promised by Apple Intelligence would make Siri on the Apple Watch a better experience . And the Apple Watch could really do with the betterment ; sure more so than the Mac , many of whose exploiter do n’t use Siri at all .

I ’ve refer to Siri as an assistant , but the Apple Watch itself is ideally place to be a portable virtual assistant . Take a looking at the ( mostly disastrous ) unmarried - function devices currently being marketed as scoop AIs , such as theHumane AI Pinor theRabbit R1 : what they have in vulgar is a pushing to make them small , light , robust , and always handily to turn over . An Apple Watch with Apple Intelligence would check all of these boxes , while also being amulti - use machine and thereby avoiding many of the pitfalls .

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence won’t run on Apple Watch when it launches this fall.

Apple Intelligence wo n’t run on Apple Watch when it launch this gloam .

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Walking around and suddenly need to know the length of a aristocratic whale , or what that build over there is , or when the Starbucks on Main Street conclude , who ’s decease to win the general election or any of the million other idle questions which AI companions are so useful for ? Our smarterwatch would be perfectly placed to help out . You would n’t need to take it out of a pocket or do any typing : just raise your radiocarpal joint and speak . But that ’s not going to be a reality , at least this twelvemonth .

The same apply to Apple Intelligence ’s messaging chops , which promise much . build - in writing puppet will be able-bodied to utilize contextual clues to create response for you in a specified style . On iPhone , again , that ’s an appealing option when you ’re in a hurry . But on an Apple Watch it would carry through you from having to go through the nightmare of watchOS ’s flyspeck keyboard , the slow progress of scrawling what you desire to say letter by letter , or the unreliableness of dictation .

The singular matter is that AIispart of watchOS 11 , in the form of that upgraded Smart Stacks feature I mention up top . From any watch typeface , you may use the Digital Crown to call up a vertically scrolling queue of thingumajig , whose controls and information will vary according to context of use and the AI ’s judgment of what you need properly now . This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what AI can attain , but it shows that Apple does understand how useful this kind of aid can be for a small - screen out wearable . If only the company took that brainwave a stone’s throw further and implemented Apple Intelligence throughout .

We ’re expecting to seeApple Watch Series 10 , Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3rd generation , runningwatchOS 11 , set up in September 2024 at the company’sGlowtime event(seehow to determine the September consequence ) . If you ’re in the market for a new Apple Watch , see ourApple Watch buying scout , one shot - up of thebest Apple Watch deal , and advice on whether you shouldbuy Apple Watch now or wait . You might also be interested in what othernew Apple productsare coming this twelvemonth , and when is thenext Apple event .