The latest iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 beta brings the first set of image generation capabilities for Apple users. One of the most exciting features is Image Playground which lets you generate fun and original AI images using prompts. Image Playground is built right into several first-party apps like Messages and Notes, and you can also use the dedicated app to experiment with different styles and concepts. Read on to learn everything about Image Playground, including how to use it to create AI-powered images on iPhone, supported apps, and its limitations.
The Image Playground app is only available in iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, which is currently in beta. Apple is likely to roll out the stable versions of iOS 18.2, iPadOS.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 in early December.
If you've already installed the betas, here are other Image Playground prerequisites:
Apart from the Apple Intelligence features waitlist, you have to opt for a second waitlist to access Image Playground, Image Wand, and Genmoji. You can request access in the Settings app, the standalone Image Playground app, or through the emoji keyboard.
Apple says it is rolling out this feature set 'over the coming weeks', so you might have to wait for a week or two to use AI-powered image generation features. You'll get a notification when these features are available to test. On my M2 iPad Pro, I had to wait for around 10 days to get the Image Playground app.
On devices running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 beta, there's a dedicated "Playground" app on the Home Screen or the desktop with a purple & black icon featuring a white bear/cat/dog creature in a 3D style. When you tap on it, you'll be greeted with a splash screen that briefs you about the app.
It's worth knowing that all the processing for the Image Playground app is done on-device. So, whatever you're typing isn't sent to the cloud or shared anywhere else. Since Image Playground is currently in beta, Apple mentions that it is collecting feedback right now.
The app interface is quite straightforward and user-friendly, making it easy to get around. You'll see Suggestions, a 'Describe an image' text box, Animation Styles, and more. We'll explore every section one by one.
If you don't know where to start or need some inspiration for image creation, Apple offers several suggestions you can add to your image. Tap on the "Show More" option from the bottom right and you'll see a boatload of themes like Fireworks, Adventure, Birthday, Disco, Halloween, Party, Sci-fi, and more.
When on tap on the 'Next' icon, you'll see 'Costume' suggestions for Artist, Chef, Astronaut, Superhero, Robot, and more. Next up, there are 'Accessories' to choose from like Beanie, Sunglasses, Bowtie, Flower Crown, Party Hat, Baseball Cap, and several others. Finally, Image Playground lets you choose from various Places, including City, Dessert, Forest, Stage, Space, Stadium, Volcano, and more.
Whenever you fall short of ideas, you can use these built-in Image Playground suggestions to create or fine-tune images.
Image Playground lets you create fun images in seconds by simply providing a description of what you want. It's worth knowing that Apple doesn't want to generate images that can fool anyone so you can't create photorealistic images. The app offers two styles- Animation and Illustration. Animation is a 3D-looking style that looks straight out of a Pixar movie. On the other hand, Illustration is a flatter, 2D image. Apple mentioned there would be three styles: animation, illustration, and sketch. The giant might add the Sketch style at a later date.
Here's how to generate images with the Image Playground app in iOS 18:
Since Image Playground is in beta right now, Apple is collecting feedback. You can use the thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons below the image to submit your feedback.
Image Playground also lets you create an AI image based on a photo. You can take a photo or choose one from your photo library and use it for your Image Playground creation. The app lets you choose any photo for the main subject or background of the image. Here's what you need to do:
What makes Image Playground more interesting is that you can select a face from your Photos app and whip an AI-generated out of it. This will let you create AI avatars of your friends and family. With this, you can turn your mom into a queen or bestie into a superhero. It's worth knowing that you can only choose a photo from the People album in the Photos app or select an appearance from the built-in concepts.
Bear in mind, you can only do headshots when creating images of people. Apple doesn't allow you to do strange or weird things with the bodies, at least not for now. That said, it's super cool and fun putting yourself or other people into custom outfits and places.
Here's how to create personalized images of a person:
You can also create an image first and then add the person at the end. It will swap the main subject with the person you've chosen.
Apple has baked the Image Playground experience in the Messages app, so you can create and share fun images right for your friends. Let's see how you can do it:
With Image Playground in Messages, you can quickly create cool images and share them with your friends, without switching between the apps. Even better, Apple suggests personalized concepts based on your conversation. For instance, if you and your friends are planning a beach vacation in a group. you'll see concepts related to your friends, destination, activity, and more. This makes image creation faster and more relevant.
Just like Messages, Image Playground is built right into several other first-party apps like Notes, Keynote, Pages, and Freeform. In the Notes app, you can access Image Playground via a new Image Wand option in the Apple Pencil tool palette. This helps you make your notes more engaging and visually impressive by turning rough sketches into beautiful images. Also, you can simply draw a circle on an empty area, and Image Wand will use the surrounding context to generate a complementing picture.
For complete details, here's our guide on how to use Image Wand.
You can easily share your Image Playground creations with others. Here are some ways to do it:
Apple has learned from the mistakes of other tech companies that have introduced image-generation tools in the past. Therefore, there are certain built-in restrictions to ensure that Image Playground doesn't generate inappropriate images. You can't generate images based on alcohol, drugs, blood, murder, death, and other controversial words. Also, images based on politics or country-specific flags are forbidden in the Image Playground app. To prevent the creation of potentially infringing images, Apple also prohibits generating images of copyrighted characters, such as Spider-Man or Mickey Mouse.
When a word or phrase isn't allowed, the Image Playground app will display the "Unable to use that description" message on the top. You'll also see an Undo button to remove it.
Currently, Image Playground is in beta testing, and Apple mentions the app can create unexpected results. After a hands-on experience, I feel the app is pretty fast and does a good job of creating images with a single object, like a rabbit wearing a tutu. However, if you wish to create an image with multiple objects like a cat and a dog, Image Playground doesn't work accurately. At the moment, the app struggles to work with multiple subjects in one frame. In addition, the app sometimes creates weird and unexpected results for certain descriptions.
Of course, I hope Apple will fix these glitches and inaccuracies in the stable version.