Apple’s App Store just tipped for a big AI upgrade — here’s what to expect

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The reviews are in, with summaries no less

Image of the Apple App Store icon on an iPhone screen
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Tada Images)

Apple's App Store could soon use Apple Intelligence to summarize the reviews of apps.

Apple recently released iOS 18.1, and with it comes several Apple Intelligence features mentioned during Apple's WWDC. One of Apple Intelligence's abilities is to summarize texts and notifications for easy reading. It seems that isn't the only summary option, as a recent report from 9to5Mac has revealed that AI summaries could be coming to the App Store.

Apple Intelligence logo for iOS 18.1

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

According to the report, Apple will generate these summaries online, rather than on-device. This is likely due to Apple's aim for quality control, with developers being able to report any AI summary that doesn't accurately represent their product. The summaries will reportedly only appear when an app has a certain number of reviews and be available in "select countries," but there are no details on when it will go live.

It should be noted that Amazon already has a feature like this, with the site offering a summary of each product's reviews. This summary also includes links for each approved feature. Likely, the Apple version will at least be similar to Amazon's "customers say" in appearance at least.

In theory, this would mean the summary could include things like the graphics in a game, value for money, and the number of in-app ads, to name a few.

Amazon's customer review summary

(Image credit: Amazon)

Apple Intelligence brings more than summaries; Siri has received a visual overhaul. Also, the update brings new features like Magic Eraser and Writing Tools to help you craft better text. However, many of the promised features for Apple Intelligence, such as Genmoji, won't be available until the iOS 18.2 update in December. Users in the EU will also have to wait for a while, with most features not coming until April 2025 due to the Digital Market Act.

The ability to see a summary of reviews will make picking an app easier, but we will have to see if it becomes possible. We can only hope that it does, as it will help keep the iPhone one of the best phones available.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.