Apple’s AI capabilities have been less than impressive thus far, however there’s one new function coming with iOS 26 that’s truly actually useful: including stuff to your calendar with a screenshot.
I’ve been testing this function 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 function thus far. 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 function on a cellphone that feels prefer it’s truly saving me time.
Possibly 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 flawed day, put them on the flawed calendar, or neglect so as to add them in any respect. Not my most interesting high quality.
The iOS model of “use AI so as to add issues to your calendar” faucets into Visible Intelligence. iOS 18 included the flexibility to create calendar occasions primarily based on images, and now iOS 26 is extending that to something in your display screen. You simply take a screenshot and a immediate will seem with the phrases “Add to calendar.” Faucet it, and after a number 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 every part seems to be good and also you’re prepared to maneuver on along with your life.
None of this might be helpful if it didn’t work persistently; fortunately, it does. I’ve but to see it hallucinate the flawed day, time, or location for an occasion — although it didn’t account for a timezone distinction in a single case. For essentially the most half although, every part goes on my calendar because it ought to, and I rejoice a bit of 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 sort of simply lands on the primary one it sees and suggests an occasion primarily based on that. If you would like that sort of performance out of your AI, you’ll want an Android cellphone.
Gemini Assistant has been ready so as to add occasions primarily based on what’s in your display screen since August of last year, and in January it added support for Samsung Calendar. To entry it, you may summon Google Assistant and faucet an icon that claims “Ask about display screen.” Gemini creates a screenshot that it references, then you definately simply kind 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 one in every of them on the proper day. In a separate case, it additionally clocked that the occasions I used to be including have been listed in Jap Time and accounted for that distinction. In some cases it even fills in an outline for the occasion primarily based on textual content on the display screen. I additionally used Gemini in Google Calendar on my laptop computer, as a result of Gemini is all the time lurking across the nook if you use actually any Google product, and it turned a listing of faculty closure dates into calendar occasions.
That is nice and all, however is that this simply an AI-rebranding of some current function? So far as I can inform, not precisely. Variations of this function already existed on each platforms, however in a way more fundamental kind. On my Apple Intelligence-less iPhone 13 Mini, you may 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; a good 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 ceaselessly will get dates and occasions flawed. AI does appear to be higher suited to this explicit process, and I’m able to embrace it.