Apple has finally released iOS 18.2, bringing with it some of the biggest and best features of Apple Intelligence for keen iPhone owners to make use of. What’s more, it’s now officially available in the UK as well as the US, making it easier than ever to access.
One of the biggest touted features of Apple Intelligence is the ability to create images, either from scratch or based on people you know, using the Image Playground app. Not only can you describe what you want to see in natural language, but there are additional features that further improve the look of images generated.
If you want to play around with AI-generated images, you’ve come to the right place; here’s how to use Image Playground on your iPhone.
What you’ll need:
- An iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence
- The iOS 18.2 update
- An active internet connection
The Short Version
- Open the Image Playground app on your iPhone.
- Tap the Plus icon to create a new image.
- Describe your image in as much detail as you want.
- Tap the Person icon to create an image based on a person’s likeness.
- Swipe through suggestions to tweak your image.
- Swipe through and select the image you want to save.
- Tap and hold the photo and tap Save Photo to save your image.
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1Open the Image Playground app on your iPhone
The first step is to open the Image Playground app on your iPhone. This should’ve appeared on your Home screen after performing the iOS 18.2 update.
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2Tap the Plus icon to create a new image
If you’ve previously created images in the app, you’ll be presented with a selection of images you’ve generated in the past. To create a new image, simply tap the Plus icon.
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3Describe your image in as much detail as you want
Here comes the fun part; describe the image you want to create. You can go into a lot of detail if you’ve got a specific image or look in mind, or you can go with a simpler prompt and let Apple Intelligence do all the creative heavy lifting for you. Tap the send icon to confirm your description and get your first set of images.
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4Tap the Person icon to create an image based on a person’s likeness
Not only can you generate a new image from scratch, but you can create an image based on a person’s likeness. This is done using the People functionality in the Photos app that essentially identifies people in images for search purposes, making it very easy to use. Simply tap the Person icon and tap the person you’d like to generate an image of based on photos in your Photo app.
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5Swipe through suggestions to tweak your image
Above the main description window, you’ll see a whole host of suggestions for your image. These can range from complete themes to specific backgrounds, accessories and more. Scroll through and tap those that take your fancy – and don’t be afraid to mix and match, Image Playground can handle it.
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6Swipe through and select the image you want to save
Once you’ve got the general look of your creation down, it’s time to scroll left and right on the image preview to see the variations of the image that Apple Intelligence has generated. It’ll keep generating more, so don’t be afraid to keep swiping if you don’t see one you really want to share.
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7Tap and hold the photo and tap Save Photo to save your image
Once you’ve found a photo you want to share, simply tap and hold on the image and tap Save Photo to save the generated image to your Photos app, ready for sharing via messaging apps and social media.
Troubleshooting
The Image Playground app is exclusively available for iPhones that support Apple Intelligence running iOS 18.2. If you haven’t got an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max or any variant of iPhone 16, or you’re running an older version of iOS, you can’t access the app.
