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Apple is trying to sell loyal iPhone users on AI tools. Here's what Apple Intelligence can do

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Apple is trying to sell loyal iPhone users on AI tools. Here's what Apple Intelligence can do

Apple’s new artificial intelligence tools are here. Now the company is trying to help customers understand them.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant on Wednesday began offering 15-minute sessions for customers at its hundreds of U.S. retail stores on the company’s new suite of AI tools called Apple Intelligence, which can help iPhone users to compose emails faster, create new emojis and delete their exes out of photos.

Apple Intelligence is a key feature on Apple’s newest operating system, which the company hopes will propel more customers to upgrade and buy more devices. The new capabilities are featured prominently in ads for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro that have aired lately, including during the World Series.

AI tools have been available to the broader public for a while now, but putting them directly in the hands of loyal Apple users could significantly accelerate the technology’s mainstream adoption. But the features will likely have a steep learning curve for some users, so Apple Store employees are tasked with walking customers through them.

The first set of new tools became available with the newest operating system update and works on iPhone 15 Pro, iPad A17 Pro or M1, Mac with M1 or newer models.

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“One of the problems with a new tool like Apple Intelligence is getting people to try it out in the first place,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the advisory services firm Enderle Group. “We tend to be creatures of habit and particularly as we get older, we don’t mess around with stuff that’s new and different. So getting people to use the tool becomes an important part of actually validating [whether] the tools [are] any good.”

Here are some of the key features of Apple Intelligence that The Times demoed. The effort is part of the tech giant’s “Today at Apple” sessions that aim to help educate Apple customers on how to navigate their devices.

Assisting communication

New AI tools can assist iPhone, Mac and iPad users with proofreading and composing messages.

For example, an iPhone user planning a sushi gathering at her house can type a few blurbs describing the time and place of the event, and Apple Intelligence will help create a full invitation.

Apple Intelligence can help change the tone of the message — whether the user wants it to be more friendly or professional.

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The tech can also flag questions in an email that a user didn’t answer, summarize memos and prioritize notifying users on time-sensitive messages, such as when a delivery has arrived, so the note doesn’t get lost in their inbox.

Compiling memories, erasing exes

The AI tools can help users better find specific photos in their libraries and create short videos to relive memories based by typing in descriptions. For example, a mom can type in, “Hannah and her bunny over the years,” and the software will generate a slideshow compilation video from her photo library with music.

Apple Intelligence also has a photo editing tool inside the Photos app that lets users remove unwanted objects or people in their photos by tapping, brushing away or circling the image. People can delete selfie-sticks, photo bombers or even your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend from the picture.

A smarter Siri?

With the updated tools, Apple‘s voice-command system Siri will be able to better detect what a user is asking, even if they stumble over their words. Users can choose to speak or type questions to Siri.

For example, if someone tells Siri, “Set an alarm for — oh wait, no — set a timer for 10 minutes. Actually, I just thought about it, I can probably do it in five. Make it five minutes,” the software would, in theory, be able to figure out what the tongue-tied person meant to say.

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Emojis on demand

In December, Apple Intelligence will also allow users to create their own customized emojis to use as stickers or reactions in text messages. For example, users can type a description such as, “shrimp with a cowboy hat,” and will receive a corresponding emoji to use in communications or create ones based on photos of their friends and family.

Other December updates include the option to access ChatGPT through Siri.

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The Container Store files for bankruptcy amid stiff competition

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The Container Store files for bankruptcy amid stiff competition

The Container Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid steep losses, slumping sales and increased competition.

Business in its stores and online will continue as usual while it restructures, the Texas-based home goods, storage and custom closets chain said late Sunday. Customer deposits for in-home services will be honored, and merchandise orders will be delivered as normal.

“The Container Store is here to stay,” Chief Executive Satish Malhotra said in a statement. “Our strategy is sound, and we believe the steps we are taking today will allow us to continue to advance our business.”

The Container Store peaked in its 2021 fiscal year, when the company exceeded $1 billion in sales for the first time and posted record earnings as consumers spent heavily on home remodeling and redecorating projects during months of pandemic quarantine. A national de-cluttering craze, set off by organization expert Marie Kondo, also benefited the chain.

But since then, the Container Store has struggled.

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Part of the company’s struggles are due to competition from rivals including Target, Walmart and Amazon, which often sell storage items that are similarly stylish at a lower price point. And with housing prices and mortgage rates remaining stubbornly high, many prospective home buyers have been forced to wait on the sidelines, dampening demand for a wide range of products and services that come with outfitting a new property.

For the three months ended Sept. 28, the Container Store reported a loss of $16.1 million. Sales totaled $196.6 million, down 10.5% compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 12.5%.

Founded in 1978, the Container Store operates more than 100 stores around the country. In Los Angeles County, it has locations in Century City, El Segundo, Pasadena and Woodland Hills.

It filed for bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas, two weeks after the New York Stock Exchange notified the company that its shares would be suspended for failing to maintain an average global market capitalization of at least $15 million over 30 consecutive trading days.

The Container Store said it expected to confirm a plan of reorganization within 35 days and emerge from bankruptcy soon after as a private company. The company said at least 90% of its term loan lenders had pledged $40 million in new money financing.

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The Chapter 11 process does not include Elfa, a separate customized closet business based in Sweden, which is owned by the Container Store.

In an email to customers Monday, Malhotra said the company had felt “the impact of the challenging macro-economic environment” but reassured them that “our obligations to you will be fulfilled as expected.”

“You can feel confident that any orders, deposits or business you have with us are safe,” he said.

It has been a tough month for large-format retail chains. Last week Party City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it would close all of its roughly 700 stores nationwide, and Big Lots said it would begin going-out-of-business sales at about 870 stores after a deal to sell the company fell through.

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Judge enters default judgment in suit against Kanye West's private school

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Judge enters default judgment in suit against Kanye West's private school

A judge entered a default judgment against Kanye West’s Christian private school in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday in connection with a lawsuit filed by a former employee.

Isaiah Meadows, Yeezy Christian Academy’s former assistant principal, sought a default judgment in his wrongful termination and unpaid wages lawsuit against the school — later rebranded Donda Academy — and other defendants for failure to appear through licensed attorneys.

The judge, Christopher K. Lui, ruled in favor of Meadows’ motion. He also ruled that the answers given by defendants — Yeezy Christian Academy, Donda Services LLC and Strokes Canyon LLC — in response to Meadows’ complaint be stricken.

Last year, a lawyer representing West, and the three other defendants denied “each and every allegation of Meadows complaint,” in a filing with the court.

In August, Brian Blumfield, West’s most recent attorney who was representing the music mogul and other business entities in the matter, sought his removal from the case on the grounds that the defendants had terminated their relationship in June and that they had refused to speak to or pay Blumfield, according to court filings. The judge granted the request.

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Meadows had alleged that he brought many of the school’s health and safety issues to the attention of West and the school’s director. But they were left unaddressed and Meadows was later fired.

According to the complaint, a skylight in one of the classrooms didn’t have glass, allowing rain to fall in the building. West reportedly did not like glass.

“Water would soak into the floor, which would lead to a moldy smell for the next few days.”

Further, electrical and telephone wires were also allegedly left exposed and on one occasion an electrical fire started near a student dining area.

In 2020, Meadows was offered $165,000 salary to work, according to the suit. However, he claimed that West later reneged on his promise to pay for his rent after doing so for three months — Meadows had relocated with his family from North Hollywood to Calabasas to work at the school.

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The rent payments ended in February 2021, Meadows claimed after he “was suspended after calling for meetings and raising concerns regarding operations of the school.”

Meadows alleged that his salary was then cut and he was later demoted and worked as a teacher’s assistant and physical education teacher. That April, he sent an email outlining his concerns about his pay and that of other staff members.

Nearly two weeks before the new school year was to start in 2022, Meadows was told that he was being terminated “with no explanation as to why.”

The suit is one of at least five filed against West and Donda Academy since 2023 that allege a hostile workplace as a result of West’s conduct, which includes claims of discrimination and antisemitism, and retaliation, as well as various health and safety issues at the school’s property that was located first in Calabasas, then Simi Valley and finally in Chatsworth.

Donda Academy abruptly shut down in October 2022, amid a cascade of fallout from West’s antisemitic comments, which led a number of his business partners such as the Gap and Adidas to sever ties with him.

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There were reports that the school reopened shortly thereafter; however, according to the California Department of Education, the school has been closed since June of this year.

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Santa, aka the IRS, might be dropping $1,400 into your stocking this year

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Santa, aka the IRS, might be dropping ,400 into your stocking this year

Everyone’s favorite Christmas gift giver, the Internal Revenue Service, has announced that it will be doling out more than $2 billion in checks to Americans this month as part of its effort to make sure everyone received their stimulus payments from 2021.

The federal tax agency has announced that an internal review showed many Americans had never received their economic impact payments, which were supposed to go out following the filing of 2021 tax returns. Because of this, the agency is paying out the money they still owe Americans who never received their checks.

Although most eligible Americans received their stimulus payments, the checks will be sent to those who qualified but filed a 2021 tax return that left the space for recovery rebate credit blank.

Those people are eligible for up to $1,400 from the federal government. The payments should be received by late January 2025, at the latest.

“These payments are an example of our commitment to go the extra mile for taxpayers. Looking at our internal data, we realized that 1 million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it.”

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Stimulus payments of $1,400 were sent out to Americans as part of a $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Millions of Americans were eligible for the payments.

To get a check, Americans were required to make less than $75,000 per year or under $150,000 as a household.

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