Apple Intelligence was promised as a game-changing feature that would transform my iPhone for the better. As with most AI products, though, the reality was so lackluster that it only took a tiny inconvenience to make me turn it off entirely.

Writing Tools Make It Harder to Find Definitions

If you ever see a word you’re unfamiliar with on your iPhone, all you need to do to get a definition is tap and hold on it, then select “Look Up” from the context menu that appears. This will bring up a dictionary entry for that word.

Perhaps it’s because, as an editor, I have a professional interest in using words correctly and expanding my vocabulary, but I use this feature all the time. It’s such a quick trick that I’m frequently doing it when catching up on the news, diving into an ebook, or even perusing Reddit. Even if I’m familiar with a word, I often double-check the official definition to make sure I’m using it right.

But with Apple Intelligence enabled on my iPhone, that “Look Up” function was replaced with Apple’s “Writing Tools,” which I didn’t use at all outside of testing for work. The “Look Up” feature still existed, but I needed to tap to the second page of actions to find it.

What used to be a quick and pain-free gesture was…well, it was still pretty quick, but it was slower than before and none of Apple’s AI features were worth even that small sacrifice.

I Don’t Care for Any of Apple’s AI Features Enough

Apple Intelligence encompasses a range of new iPhone features: Writing Tools, Notification Summaries, and ChatGPT Siri integration to name a few. These all sounded excellent to me initially, but I was unimpressed with each of them.

I’d already disabled Notification Summaries, but was at the point where I use Apple Intelligence so little, I’d much rather turn the whole system off to fix my tiny frustration with the “Look Up” feature being an extra tap away. That little feature’s availability was more important to me than all of Apple Intelligence’s hollow promises, and it still is.

Since I couldn’t edit the context menu or disable Apple’s Writing Tools, I opted to disable Apple Intelligence entirely. I have to say, I haven’t missed it at all.

To do so yourself, just go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and hit that big toggle at the top of the screen.