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TheiOS 18.1update coming to iPhones this month will bring newWriting Tools featuresto devices that can runApple Intelligence.
And a big part of the Writing Tools features is improving your own writing.
So naturally, I was interested to see if Writing Tools would suffer the same fate.
Here’s how Writing Tools did on my test.
The icon looks like the Apple Intelligence logo a circle with some squiggly lines around the edges.
Nixon’s original speech (left) and the version produced by Writing Tools' Friendly tone (right)
Tap on the Writing Tools icon and a menu will appear from the bottom of the screen.
All the Writing Tools are accessible here not just the ones that will rewrite your text.
These tools include a proofreader capability, as well as options for summarizing and auto-formating your text.
Sally Field’s Oscar speech (left) and the version produced by Writing Tools' Professional tone (right)
Writing Tools: Friendly tone
In 1962, Richard Nixon ran for governor of California and lost.
This loss came two years after a losing run for the presidency in 1960.
It’s a memorable line, but not a particularly friendly one.
Henry VIII’s love letter to Anne Boleyn (left) and the version produced by Writing Tools' Concise feature (right)
So I tried to see if Writing Tools could lighten the tone somewhat by opting for the Friendly option.
Admittedly, Writing Tools didn’t have a lot to work with here Nixon was steaming that day.
But its attempt at a friendlier tone boiled down to changing some words here and there.
Original letter to Santa (left), and the version updated with Writing Tools' Rewrite feature (right)
That gets transformed into “Thanks, gentleman, and have a great day!”
I’m not sure the exclamation point makes that much of a difference.
But maybe Writing Tools could tighten up that speech a little bit without losing the sentiment.
My original cover letter (left) and the version created by the Professional tone of Writing Tools (right)
I typed Field’s acceptance speech into the Notes app, summoned Writing Tools and selected Professional.
The appreciation for her fellow cast members and her family is still there.
But with that condensing, some of the more florid metaphors are lost.
The Professional tone version of my cover letter (left) and the version after using the Rewrite tool (right)
Even if you give it some leeway for struggling with older language conventions, that’s less than ideal.
Writing Tools: Rewrite tool
Enough fooling around with text someone else wrote.
Maybe Writing Tools can improve that.
At most, it swapped in some different words and not always to the benefit of the text.
Let’s see what happens when you combine different Writing Tools to try and improve your text.
Once again, the Professional tool proves invaluable at cleaning up informal writing.
It took words like “interest” and added adjectives like “keen interest” that emphasize my enthusiasm.
It also replaced my closing “take care” with a more appropriate “sincerely.”
The Professional option is more than enough to get the job done.
This final exercise has convinced me that using just one of the Writing Tools options is probably enough.
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