How to Generate AI Images With Apple Intelligence's Image Playground

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The second wave of Apple Intelligence features dropped in December with iOS 18.2, adding a standout generative AI feature called Image Playground, among other upgrades. Like other AI tools, Image Playground allows users to design personalized AI images, from creating cartoonish avatars to making edits to existing photos.

Limitations of Image Playground

Image Playground is integrated into Apple's Messages app, so it's available across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS on devices that support Apple Intelligence. There's also a standalone app. We tried it out on a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.2.

At this point, Image Playground is more of a novelty, a fun way to generate AI images and share them with friends over text. It's not quite ready to go head-to-head with more serious image generators like DALL-E 3 or Adobe Firefly.

There are also guidelines on what you can create. For example, when typing in a phrase, you'll often be prompted to add a theme or person from the Photos app before Image Playground will create anything. Only a person's face will be used, so no full body shots, and faces will be centered, even if the accompanying phrase is something like “doing a backflip.” (If you want to get weird, it seems like X's Grok can help you out.)

How to Generate Images Using Prompts

Once you update your device, Image Playground will be available in the Messages app. Open a conversation with one of your contacts, tap the plus (+) button, and select Image Playground. The simplest way to create an image from here is to enter a description of the image you want to see in the search bar. Type something like “dog at park" and several options will be generated. Tap the Style button below to choose a different visual style.

Another quick option is to choose a suggested theme. Image Playground comes loaded with about 50 themes, which vary from a setting like "forest" or an object like "volcano" to different types of people like "racecar driver" or "vampire." Select one to automatically generate a related image.

How to Generate Images Using Photos

You can also create an image of a person from a picture in the Photos app. Tap the Person button under the suggestions, choose a person, and pick a photo for the base. You can then choose among several visual styles for the generated image. If the image needs additional editing, tap Person > Edit to make adjustments. You can also enter a prompt in the search bar.

Tap the Photos button to create an image from one of your existing pictures. Select a photo from the camera roll or take a new photo. Image Playground will automatically convert the image into an AI-generated version, with several different options available.

How to Save and Edit Images

To save an image, tap Done once it’s been created in Image Playground. It will then be saved in the Gallery. To edit after it's saved, return to the Gallery in Image Playground, tap on a photo, and tap Edit. You can then type in a new phrase or choose a different person or image from Photos.