TL;DR

Modern smartphones use AI for cameras (portrait mode, night mode), autocorrect, voice assistants, face unlock, battery optimization, and app suggestions. Most of this happens on-device for speed and privacy.

AI features you use daily

Camera:

  • Portrait mode (blurs background)
  • Night mode (brightens low-light photos)
  • Scene detection (adjusts settings for food, sunset, pets)
  • Face beautification and filters

Keyboard:

  • Autocorrect fixes typos
  • Autocomplete predicts next word
  • Swipe typing recognizes gestures

Security:

  • Face unlock (Face ID)
  • Fingerprint scanning
  • Fraud detection for payments

Battery and performance:

  • Learns when you charge and optimizes battery health
  • Predicts which apps you'll use and pre-loads them
  • Closes unused apps to save power

Voice and audio:

  • Voice assistants (Siri, Google Assistant)
  • Noise cancellation during calls
  • Speech-to-text transcription

Photos and organization:

  • Auto-tagging people, places, objects
  • Creating albums and memories
  • Searching photos by content ("beach," "dog")

On-device vs. cloud AI

On-device (private, fast):

  • Face unlock
  • Keyboard predictions
  • Photo processing
  • Runs locally—no internet needed

Cloud (powerful, but requires connection):

  • Voice assistant queries
  • Advanced image search
  • Language translation
  • Sends data to servers for processing

Benefits

  • Faster, smarter phone
  • Better photos
  • Personalized experience
  • Enhanced security

Privacy considerations

  • Some AI features send data to the cloud
  • Check privacy settings for each feature
  • Use on-device AI when possible

What's next

  • AI in Everyday Life
  • Voice Assistants Explained
  • AI and Privacy Basics