One of the more intriguing features in Apple’s new AI suite, Apple Intelligence, is the Image Playground—a tool that lets you generate images with just a prompt. Sure, we’ve seen similar offerings from Midjourney and DALL-E, but integrating this into iOS 18 could make it a lot more accessible and user-friendly. Now, thanks to MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, we have a clearer picture of how it all works.
We already knew that Image Playground would provide suggested prompts (though you can also craft your own), and while it’s not yet active in the iOS 18 beta, Moser has uncovered some juicy details about these suggestions.
The suggestions will be personalized, meaning you might get a prompt based on something you’re messaging a friend about. So, if you’re chatting about your dream vacation, expect a prompt to whip up some tropical paradise imagery.
Moser has also categorized a plethora of potential suggestions. Under ‘Nature and Environments,’ you might see prompts for mountains, deserts, forests, starry nights, or waterfalls. ‘Themes’ could include adventure, birthdays, graduations, fantasy, and love. ‘Beverages and Foods’ range from champagne glasses to coffee and tea. There are also prompts for ‘Items and Accessories,’ ‘Places,’ ‘Seasons,’ and ‘Costumes and Characters.’
You can check out the full list of suggestions that Moser discovered over at MacRumors. Keep in mind, there are likely more suggestions since some seen in Apple’s marketing materials haven’t appeared in the beta yet. And since it’s a beta, expect the final list to be even larger by the time Image Playground officially launches.
These suggestions could pop up when you’re using an app like Messages or Notes, which has Image Playground integrated. Additionally, there will be a standalone Image Playground app for creating images that you can then share across apps and social media.
Beyond the preset categories or crafting your own prompts, Apple’s marketing has shown that Image Playground can generate cartoon-like pictures of contacts or people from your photo library. You can also choose between three styles—‘Animation,’ ‘Illustration,’ and ‘Sketch.’
Image Playground is set to be a powerful and versatile tool. It’s designed to work on-device, meaning you won’t need an internet connection, but it does require an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPad or Mac with an M1 or better chipset.
So, if you’re looking forward to a robust image-generation tool that’s seamlessly integrated into your device, Image Playground is something to keep an eye on as iOS 18 rolls out.
