Apple’s AI capabilities have been lower than spectacular up to now, however there’s one new characteristic coming with iOS 26 that’s really actually useful: including stuff to your calendar with a screenshot.
I’ve been testing this characteristic out for the previous few weeks within the developer beta, and I’m happy to report that it really works, simply making it my favourite Apple Intelligence characteristic up to now. That’s admittedly a low bar to clear — and it’s not fairly as succesful as Android’s model — however boy is it a pleasant change of tempo to make use of an AI characteristic on a cellphone that feels prefer it’s really saving me time.
Perhaps including issues to your calendar doesn’t sound all that thrilling, however I’m an individual who’s Unhealthy At Calendars. I’ll confidently add occasions to the improper day, put them on the improper calendar, or neglect so as to add them in any respect. Not my best high quality.
The iOS model of “use AI so as to add issues to your calendar” faucets into Visible Intelligence. iOS 18 included the power to create calendar occasions based mostly on pictures, and now iOS 26 is extending that to something in your display. You simply take a screenshot and a immediate will seem with the phrases “Add to calendar.” Faucet it, and after a couple of moments you’ll see a preview of the occasion to be added with the top-level particulars. You’ll be able to faucet to edit the occasion or simply create it if all the pieces appears to be like good and also you’re prepared to maneuver on together with your life.
None of this could be helpful if it didn’t work constantly; fortunately, it does. I’ve but to see it hallucinate the improper day, time, or location for an occasion — although it didn’t account for a timezone distinction in a single case. For probably the most half although, all the pieces goes on my calendar because it ought to, and I rejoice slightly bit each time it saves me a visit to the calendar app. The one limitation I’ve come throughout is that it could possibly’t create a number of occasions from a screenshot. It form of simply lands on the primary one it sees and suggests an occasion based mostly on that. In order for you that form of performance out of your AI, you’ll want an Android cellphone.
Gemini Assistant has been in a position so as to add occasions based mostly on what’s in your display since August of final yr, and in January it added help for Samsung Calendar. To entry it, you possibly can summon Google Assistant and faucet an icon that claims “Ask about display.” Gemini creates a screenshot that it references, then you definately simply sort or converse your immediate to have it add the occasion to your calendar. This has did not work for me as lately as a few months in the past, however it’s miles higher now.
I gave Gemini Assistant on the Pixel 9 Professional the duty of including a bunch of preschool occasions to my calendar all listed on the finish of an e-mail — and it created an occasion for each considered one of them on the proper day. In a separate case, it additionally clocked that the occasions I used to be including had been listed in Jap Time and accounted for that distinction. In some situations it even fills in an outline for the occasion based mostly on textual content on the display. I additionally used Gemini in Google Calendar on my laptop computer, as a result of Gemini is at all times lurking across the nook once you use actually any Google product, and it turned an inventory of faculty closure dates into calendar occasions.
That is nice and all, however is that this simply an AI-rebranding of some current characteristic? So far as I can inform, not precisely. Variations of this characteristic already existed on each platforms, however in a way more primary type. On my Apple Intelligence-less iPhone 13 Mini, you possibly can faucet on a date in an e-mail for an choice so as to add it to your calendar. Nevertheless it makes use of the e-mail topic line because the occasion title; an honest start line, however including 5 occasions to my calendar with the heading “Preschool July E-newsletter” isn’t best. Android can even immediate you so as to add an occasion to your calendar from a screenshot, however it regularly will get dates and instances improper. AI does appear to be higher suited to this explicit process, and I’m able to embrace it.