Tuesday, February 24, 2026

The Complete Guide to Apple Intelligence on Mac: What It Does and How to Use It

Apple Intelligence is the most significant update to come to Mac in years — and if you've updated to macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later, you already have access to it. Whether you're an educator looking to streamline lesson planning, a home user trying to get more out of your devices, or just someone curious about what AI can actually do on a Mac, this guide covers everything you need to know.

In this post, we'll walk through every major Apple Intelligence feature available on macOS Sequoia, how to turn them on, and real-world ways to put them to work — including some great use cases for the classroom.

What Is Apple Intelligence?

Apple Intelligence is Apple's personal intelligence system built directly into macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Unlike cloud-only AI services, Apple Intelligence processes most requests on-device, meaning your data stays private and many features work without an internet connection. For tasks that do require more processing power, Apple uses Private Cloud Compute — a system designed so that even Apple can't see your data.

Apple Intelligence is available on:

  • Mac models with an M1 chip or later
  • macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later
  • Your device language and Siri language must be set to English (US) to start — more languages are rolling out through 2025

To check if your Mac is compatible, go to Apple menu > About This Mac and look for an M-series chip. If you have an Intel Mac, Apple Intelligence is not available.

How to Enable Apple Intelligence on Mac

  1. Open System Settings
  2. Click Apple Intelligence & Siri in the sidebar
  3. Toggle Apple Intelligence on
  4. Follow the prompts — you may need to download a model update (around 1–2 GB)

Once enabled, you'll notice new options appear across your apps, a refreshed Siri interface, and new system-level features throughout macOS.

Writing Tools: AI-Powered Writing Assistance Everywhere

Writing Tools is arguably the most immediately useful Apple Intelligence feature for everyday users. It appears in virtually every app where you can type text — Mail, Notes, Pages, Messages, third-party apps, and even most web text fields in Safari.

How to Access Writing Tools

Select any text you've written, then right-click (Control-click) and choose Writing Tools from the context menu. You can also find it under the Edit menu in many apps.

What Writing Tools Can Do

  • Proofread: Catches grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors with explanations
  • Rewrite: Rewrites selected text in a different way while keeping your meaning
  • Make Friendly / Make Professional / Make Concise: Tone-shift your writing with one click
  • Summarize: Condenses long text into a short summary
  • Create Key Points: Extracts the most important points as a bullet list
  • Create a Table: Turns data or a list into a formatted table automatically
  • Create a List: Reformats prose into a structured list

Classroom Use Case

Writing Tools is a fantastic resource for teachers writing parent communications, lesson plan notes, or IEP documentation. Select a draft email, tap "Make Professional," and you've instantly polished a rough note into something ready to send. For students, the Proofread feature provides helpful feedback without just rewriting their work for them.

Smarter Siri: Natural Language and On-Screen Context

Siri has received its biggest upgrade since launch. The new Siri on macOS Sequoia can understand natural, conversational language — meaning you don't need to phrase commands in a specific way anymore.

Key New Siri Features

  • Type to Siri: Instead of speaking, type your request. Click the Siri icon or press Command + Space and just start typing
  • Maintain context across requests: Siri now remembers what you were just talking about, so you can follow up naturally ("What about the second one?")
  • On-Screen Awareness: Siri can see what's on your screen and act on it — "Add this address to my contacts" while looking at a webpage, for example
  • Personal Context: With permission, Siri can look at your emails, messages, and calendar to answer personal questions like "When is my flight?" or "What did Sarah say about the project?"

For a deeper look at what Siri can do now, Apple's Apple Intelligence overview page is a great reference.

Notification Summaries and Priority Notifications

If you get a lot of notifications, this feature alone might be worth enabling Apple Intelligence for. macOS Sequoia can now intelligently summarize and prioritize your notifications.

Priority Notifications

Apple Intelligence identifies time-sensitive or important notifications and surfaces them at the top of Notification Center. This means a "Your flight is boarding" alert won't get buried under a stack of social media pings.

Notification Summaries

For apps that send multiple notifications (like a group chat), Apple Intelligence groups them and shows a brief summary rather than a wall of individual alerts. You can tap the summary to expand and see everything underneath.

To Configure These Features:

  1. Go to System Settings > Notifications
  2. At the top, you'll see Apple Intelligence Summaries — toggle this on
  3. You can control which apps participate on a per-app basis

Note: Notification summaries work best for English-language content. Apple has acknowledged some early inaccuracies in summaries and has continued refining this feature with each macOS update.

Image Playground: Create AI Images on Mac

Image Playground is a fun, contained image generation tool built into macOS. Unlike open-ended AI image generators, Image Playground uses a curated set of styles and concepts to keep results appropriate and on-brand.

How to Use Image Playground

Image Playground can be accessed from within Messages (tap the Image Playground button in the compose area) and from compatible third-party apps. Developers can also build it into their own apps using the Image Playground API.

You can:

  • Choose from styles like Animation, Illustration, or Sketch
  • Describe what you want in plain text
  • Use suggested concepts that appear based on your conversation context
  • Generate variations until you find one you like

Classroom Use Case

Image Playground is a safe, age-appropriate way for students to explore creative image generation. Because it uses controlled styles (not photorealistic output), it's well-suited for digital storytelling projects, illustrated reports, or just making custom stickers in Messages. It's the kind of AI tool that sparks creativity without opening up concerns about inappropriate outputs.

Genmoji: Custom Emoji Created by AI

Genmoji lets you create entirely new emoji that don't exist in the standard set — generated on-device based on a text description. Type "a golden retriever wearing a graduation cap" and Apple Intelligence creates a custom emoji-style sticker you can use in Messages and other apps.

How to Create a Genmoji

  1. Open Messages and tap the emoji button
  2. In the emoji picker, tap the sparkle icon in the search bar
  3. Type a description and tap Create
  4. Swipe through variations and tap to add to your messages

Genmoji can also be based on people — type someone's name and it can create a stylized emoji version using their photo from your contacts. This is a crowd-pleaser in classroom settings when students are working on digital storytelling or creative projects.

Mail: Summarization, Smart Replies, and Priority Inbox

Apple Intelligence transforms the Mail app in several useful ways:

  • Email Summaries: Long emails show a short AI-generated summary at the top so you can decide whether to read the full message
  • Smart Reply: Mail suggests short reply options based on the content of the email — click one to use it as a starting point
  • Priority Messages: The top of your inbox shows messages Apple Intelligence considers important or time-sensitive

These features are on by default once Apple Intelligence is enabled. You can tweak them in Mail > Settings > General.

Safari: Summarize Web Pages and Reader Mode Upgrades

Apple Intelligence brings smarter browsing to Safari on macOS Sequoia:

  • Page Summaries in Reader: When you use Reader Mode on a long article, Apple Intelligence can generate a brief summary at the top
  • Highlights: Safari can surface key information from a page — like a business's hours, phone number, or directions — without you having to hunt for it
  • Smart Search Suggestions: The Smart Search bar is more conversational, providing better context-aware suggestions as you type

Privacy: How Apple Keeps Your Data Safe

One of the most important things to understand about Apple Intelligence is how Apple handles privacy. Most processing happens entirely on your Mac — your notes, emails, and photos are not sent to Apple's servers for routine tasks.

For more complex requests that require additional compute, Apple uses Private Cloud Compute — a system where requests are processed on Apple silicon servers and Apple cryptographically guarantees it cannot retain or access your data. Independent security researchers can verify this via Apple's Private Cloud Compute Security Research page.

ChatGPT integration (for more advanced Siri questions) is opt-in only — Siri will explicitly ask your permission before sending anything to OpenAI, and no data is sent without your consent.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Apple Intelligence

  • Keep macOS updated — Apple Intelligence features are rolling out incrementally with each point release of Sequoia. The more up-to-date you are, the more features you'll have.
  • Use Writing Tools in everyday apps — Don't limit it to Apple apps. It works in Chrome, Slack, and most third-party apps too.
  • Give Siri context gradually — You can enable Personal Context in Siri settings to let it read your emails and messages for smarter answers. Do this at your own comfort level.
  • Explore per-app summaries — Check Notification settings to fine-tune which apps use AI summaries. Some apps (like news) benefit more than others.

Conclusion

Apple Intelligence represents a genuine shift in how Macs work — it's not a gimmick or a demo feature, but a collection of practical tools woven throughout the operating system. Writing Tools alone can save significant time for anyone who writes regularly, and the privacy-first approach makes it a reasonable choice even for educators working with student data.

As Apple continues to roll out new capabilities through 2025 and beyond, it's worth keeping an eye on the official Apple Intelligence page for the latest additions. For now, the best place to start is simply turning it on and exploring — Writing Tools in particular is immediately useful from day one.

Have you started using Apple Intelligence on your Mac? Let me know what features you've found most useful in the comments below.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Raspberry Pi 5 + Mac: Setting Up a Home Lab for Beginners (2026 Guide)

The Raspberry Pi 5 is the best Pi yet — faster processor, more RAM, an official active cooler, and a new PCIe slot that opens up serious storage options. Paired with your Mac, it makes for an incredibly capable and cheap home lab that can run a local server, host your own services, and teach you a ton about networking and Linux in the process.

In this guide, I'll walk through everything from initial setup to getting your Pi 5 working seamlessly alongside your Mac — including SSH access from Terminal, file sharing, running a local web server, and a few project ideas to get you started. I wrote about Raspberry Pi earlier on this blog — the Pi 5 is a significant leap forward.

What You'll Need

  • Raspberry Pi 5 (4GB or 8GB RAM recommended) — available from Adafruit, PiShop.us, or CanaKit
  • MicroSD card: At least 32GB, Class 10 or faster. A Samsung Endurance or SanDisk Extreme is recommended for reliability
  • Official Raspberry Pi Power Supply (27W USB-C for Pi 5 — don't skimp on this)
  • Official Raspberry Pi Active Cooler (comes with some kits, highly recommended for Pi 5)
  • A case (optional but nice)
  • Your Mac (any modern Mac works)

A complete CanaKit or official Raspberry Pi starter kit typically runs $70–$100 and includes everything except a monitor.

Step 1: Flash the Operating System

The easiest way to set up your Pi is using Raspberry Pi Imager on your Mac.

  1. Download Raspberry Pi Imager from the official Raspberry Pi website
  2. Install it on your Mac and open it
  3. Choose your device: Raspberry Pi 5
  4. Choose your OS: Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) — the full version with desktop is good for beginners; Lite (no desktop) if you're running headless
  5. Choose your storage: select your microSD card
  6. Before writing, click the gear icon (Settings) — this is important:
    • Set a hostname (e.g., raspberrypi.local)
    • Enable SSH
    • Set a username and password
    • Configure your Wi-Fi SSID and password (so it connects automatically on first boot)
  7. Click Write and wait for the image to be written and verified

These preconfigured settings mean your Pi will be on your network and accessible via SSH from the very first boot — no keyboard or monitor needed.

Step 2: First Boot and SSH from Your Mac

Insert the microSD card into your Pi, connect power, and wait about 60–90 seconds for first boot. Then, on your Mac:

  1. Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal)
  2. Connect via SSH using the hostname you set:
ssh pi@raspberrypi.local

Replace pi with the username you chose during setup. You'll be prompted to accept the host fingerprint (type yes) and then enter your password.

If the hostname doesn't resolve, try using the Pi's IP address instead. You can find it by logging into your router's admin page and looking at connected devices.

Once connected, you're in. You're now controlling your Raspberry Pi from Terminal on your Mac — typing commands that run on the Pi over your local network.

Step 3: Update and Upgrade Your Pi

After first login, always update to the latest packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

This downloads and installs the latest security patches and software updates. It may take a few minutes. Run this regularly — it's the equivalent of running Software Update on your Mac.

Step 4: Set Up File Sharing Between Pi and Mac

To easily transfer files between your Mac and Pi, set up Samba (the protocol that makes file shares visible on macOS):

sudo apt install samba samba-common-bin -y

Then configure it to share your home folder:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add this at the end of the file:

[PiShare]
path = /home/pi
writeable = yes
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777
public = no

Save with Control+O, Enter, Control+X, then set a Samba password for your user:

sudo smbpasswd -a pi

Restart Samba:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Now on your Mac, open Finder, press Command+K, and type:

smb://raspberrypi.local

Enter your Pi's Samba credentials and you'll see the shared folder appear in Finder like any other network drive. Drag and drop files between your Mac and Pi freely.

Step 5: Run a Local Web Server

One of the most satisfying first Pi projects is hosting a local website or web app. Install Apache in seconds:

sudo apt install apache2 -y

That's it. Open a browser on your Mac and go to http://raspberrypi.local — you'll see the default Apache welcome page, confirming your web server is running.

Your website files live at /var/www/html/ on the Pi. Drop an HTML file there and it'll be served immediately. From your Mac, copy files there using the Samba share you set up, or via the command line with:

scp /path/to/local/file.html pi@raspberrypi.local:/var/www/html/

Combined with editing the hosts file on your Mac (which I've covered on this blog), you can point a custom local domain like myproject.local to your Pi's IP address for a more realistic local dev setup.

Step 6: Set a Static IP for Your Pi

For a reliable home lab, your Pi should always have the same IP address. The easiest way is to set a DHCP reservation in your router — look for "DHCP Reservations" in your router admin panel, find your Pi's MAC address, and assign it a permanent IP like 192.168.1.100.

Alternatively, set a static IP on the Pi itself by editing the DHCP configuration:

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

Add at the end:

interface eth0
static ip_address=192.168.1.100/24
static routers=192.168.1.1
static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.1 8.8.8.8

Adjust the IP addresses to match your network. Save, exit, and reboot the Pi: sudo reboot

Useful SSH and Terminal Tips for Mac Users

Create an SSH shortcut on your Mac

Instead of typing the full SSH command every time, add an alias to your shell. Open Terminal and edit your profile:

nano ~/.zshrc

Add:

alias pi="ssh pi@raspberrypi.local"

Save and run source ~/.zshrc. Now you can just type pi in Terminal to connect instantly.

Use SSH keys instead of a password

Generate an SSH key pair on your Mac (if you haven't already) and copy your public key to the Pi:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_mac@home"
ssh-copy-id pi@raspberrypi.local

After this, you can SSH into your Pi without ever typing a password — much more convenient.

Project Ideas for Your Pi + Mac Home Lab

  • Pi-hole: A network-wide ad blocker that runs on your Pi and filters ads for every device on your home network — including your Mac, iPhone, and smart TV
  • Local WordPress site: Install LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) and run WordPress locally for development and testing before deploying to a live server
  • Home automation hub: Run Home Assistant to control smart home devices without relying on cloud services
  • Retro gaming: RetroPie turns your Pi into a retro gaming console supporting hundreds of classic systems
  • Network monitor: Run tools like nmap and iftop to see what's on your home network
  • Personal VPN: Set up WireGuard on your Pi so you can securely access your home network from anywhere

Conclusion

The Raspberry Pi 5 is an excellent companion to a Mac. It's cheap enough to experiment with freely, powerful enough to run real services, and a fantastic way to learn Linux and networking in your own home. The combination of Pi's Linux environment and your Mac's Terminal makes for a productive home lab that can grow with your skills.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation's official documentation is exceptionally well-written and covers everything from hardware specs to advanced project tutorials. It's the best place to go once you've got the basics running.

What project are you thinking of running on your Pi? Drop it in the comments — I'd love to hear what you're building.

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