Apple Watch will get a key Apple Intelligence feature in iOS 18.1

Apple Intelligence isn’t officially supported on the Apple Watch. But one of the key AI features in iOS 18.1 is available—and at its best—when used on the Watch. Here’s how notification summaries bring Apple Intelligence to your wrist.

Notification summaries powered by Apple Intelligence

One tentpole of Apple Intelligence is its language tools. This umbrella covers features like AI writing aids for proofreading and rewriting, priority messages in Mail, Smart Reply suggestions, and more.

Notification summaries are another feature powered by AI language tools.

For supported apps, such as Messages and Mail, Apple Intelligence uses notifications to provide brief summaries of a message’s contents.

Notifications aren’t the only place summaries live. Here’s an example of summarized emails inside the Mail app.

If a message is already short, you’ll still see its actual text included in your notification.

But with longer messages, notifications no longer show just the first part of a message. Brief excerpts like that rarely offer helpful information.

Instead, thanks to Apple Intelligence, notifications in iOS 18.1 now feature a summary of the message’s full contents.

And this works for summarizing a whole conversation too: if you have a stack of unread Messages notifications on your Watch, the summary will dynamically update to encompass everything you’ve missed.

Basically, notification summaries help you understand a message or thread’s key contents with just a quick glance.

Which is why this feature is a perfect fit for the Apple Watch.

AI notifications coming to Apple Watch

The Apple Watch isn’t technically a supported Apple Intelligence device.

However, because the iPhone feeds notifications to its paired Watch, it benefits from these iOS 18.1 AI notifications.

And as nice as these ‘intelligent’ notifications are on the iPhone, I’ve found they’re an even stronger asset on the Watch. Screen real estate is at such a premium on the Apple Watch that this feature feels custom-built for watchOS.

The best part? You don’t need new Watch hardware to get this feature.

As long as you’re running an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, your Watch will score these new, upgraded notifications.

Though I have to admit, the larger displays of the Apple Watch Series 10 will make notification summaries even better.

Notification summaries show what’s possible with AI in watchOS

Many of the features coming with Apple Intelligence don’t make much sense on the Watch.

I don’t need my Watch to rewrite messages for me, create AI-generated images, or remove unwanted objects from my photos.

But notification summaries demonstrate how AI can be a boon to the wrist.

Some other Apple Intelligence features that would be great in watchOS include:

And this is just the start. Apple will undoubtedly add new Apple Intelligence features in the years ahead. Some of those will be great for the Watch.

There are processor limitations that make native Watch-based AI a challenge. But notification summaries show how the Apple Watch stands to benefit from Apple’s investment in this realm.

Have you used AI notification summaries on your Watch? Let us know what you think in the comments.