Apple’s Picture Playground is a free app for iPhone and different Apple units that permits you to generate limitless AI pictures free of charge. You possibly can generate pictures primarily based in your mates, from a textual content immediate or completely from scratch, in all kinds of themes and types.
It’s a part of Apple Intelligence, the rising set of AI options that work on the newest iPhones, Macs and iPads. Right here’s the right way to use Picture Playground.
Generate AI pictures in your iPhone with Picture Playground
The flexibility to create imagery from easy textual content prompts rocketed merchandise like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E to recognition, for higher or worse. With the free Picture Playground app, Apple desires to horn in on that motion. And because the app runs on appropriate iPhones, free of charge, it places the facility of AI artwork within the palms of hundreds of thousands of customers who won’t in any other case dabble in such endeavors.
As with all issues Apple, Picture Playground is straightforward to make use of and (principally) sanitized. To assist keep away from deepfakes and misinformation, Apple restricted the picture software to a few cartoonish types: Animation, Illustration and Sketch. The corporate additionally makes an attempt to cease individuals from producing offensive or copyright-protected pictures.
Desk of contents: Generate AI pictures in your iPhone with Picture Playground
- Set up iOS 18.2 and allow Apple Intelligence
- Launch Picture Playground and decide a beginning picture
- Edit your picture and add extra particulars
- How good do Picture Playground pictures look?
- Extra Apple Intelligence options
Set up iOS 18.2 and allow Apple Intelligence
Picture Playground is a part of the second spherical of Apple’s AI options, accessible in iOS 18.2. As with all Apple Intelligence options, you’ll want an iPhone, Mac or iPad with an M-series chip, an A17 Professional chip or higher to make use of the app.
When you don’t have already got iOS 18.2, you may set up it by going to Settings > Normal > Software program Replace. After you replace, head to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri to allow Apple Intelligence.
Launch Picture Playground and decide a beginning picture
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
After you replace, you’ll see the Playground app in your iPhone’s Dwelling Display screen that may allow you to generate AI pictures from scratch. To get began, open the Playground app and faucet the large + button on the backside proper of the display. (Picture Playground can also be accessible inside Apple’s Messages app, from the app menu.)
There are 4 methods to create AI pictures in Picture Playground:
- Describe an Picture: Faucet this feature to sort a textual content immediate, and Picture Playground will generate a picture primarily based in your description.
- Select a Individual: Faucet the Select Individual button on the backside to pick out a photograph of somebody in your Pictures library. The app pulls pictures out of your Pictures library’s “Individuals and Pets” part, so make certain to tag individuals and pets first. Alternatively, faucet the Look button within the higher left and choose Edit to generate an individual from scratch.
- Select Type or Photograph: Faucet the + icon on the backside proper and choose Select Photograph to select a picture out of your library as a place to begin. When you can’t discover the picture you’re on the lookout for, faucet All on the prime of the picture picker. You can even swap between Animation, Illustration and Sketch types from the + menu.
- Suggestion Bubbles: Faucet any of the suggestion bubbles on the backside of the display. These can be utilized as inspiration or to refine your picture in progress.
Edit your AI picture and add extra particulars
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
When you select a beginning immediate, Picture Playground will generate 4 choices at a time. You possibly can swipe to see extra variations.
When you’re not pleased with the outcomes, you may modify the picture additional. Faucet the sq. picture preview to return and edit the prompts. You possibly can add preset tags from Apple, comparable to themes, costumes, equipment, and locations, or sort in extra descriptions within the textual content field. To take away a immediate, merely faucet on any of the floating bubbles.
If you’re glad, faucet Performed within the higher proper to avoid wasting your picture. You possibly can share it, delete it, or return to edit it anytime. Moreover, you may present suggestions by giving it a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, as this can be a beta function and will produce sudden outcomes.
Are Picture Playground pictures any good?
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Personally, I’m not impressed by this much-hyped Apple Intelligence function. The photographs created by Picture Playground are disappointing. When in comparison with superior AI picture turbines like Midjourney, the outcomes from Picture Playground look outdated by at the very least two years.
It struggles with fundamental duties like drawing straight strains, and lots of components of the photographs are likely to mix collectively. Whereas it’s fascinating that all the things occurs on-device with no limitations, the novelty doesn’t make up for the truth that it produces subpar outcomes.
Regardless of Apple’s makes an attempt to implement safeguards in opposition to dangerous or express prompts, I discover it regarding that you would be able to generate pictures utilizing something out of your picture library. The truth is, I used to be simply in a position to obtain a picture on-line and use it to create a picture of Adolf Hitler standing on the White Home garden. If I had been a malicious middle-schooler, I may simply create embarrassing or dangerous pictures to bully or harass classmates.
For my part, Apple ought to rethink releasing the Picture Playground function. It appears destined to change into a relentless battle to forestall misuse, providing little worth in return. Even one of the best pictures it creates aren’t significantly spectacular.
Extra Apple Intelligence options
This text on Picture Playground was initially revealed on November 21, 2024. We up to date it with new data on December 11, 2024 and April 22, 2025.
