Apple is bringing Apple Intelligence into the Phone app with a feature designed to surface relevant information during calls.
In one example shown at WWDC, an iPhone automatically displayed an airline confirmation number when the user contacted the carrier. The information was pulled from data already stored on the device.
Apple emphasized that the feature does not listen to conversations. Instead, it identifies the business being called and uses on-device intelligence to find related information that may be useful during the interaction.
Why Holding for Customer Service Just Got Slightly Less Painful
Call Context is the feature name. You dial a business number, and your iPhone scans your Mail for anything relevant tied to that contact.
Confirmation codes, booking numbers, account details whatever makes sense for that call gets surfaced automatically before anyone picks up.
Think about how many times you have scrambled to find a reference number while already on hold.
Searching your inbox with one hand, trying to stay on the line with the other. That specific friction is what this feature is designed to address.
Meanwhile, Messages Got Quieter in an Interesting Way
The Messages updates are less dramatic but worth paying attention to. If someone texts asking for a photo, you get a one-tap prompt to search your library.
The system parses keywords and context from the conversation to narrow down which photos are a good fit. You do not have to go hunting.
Reminders and notes can now also be created directly from a conversation thread. The Smart Reply feature in both Messages and Mail has been updated to actually reflect your personal writing style rather than sounding like a generic autocomplete suggestion.
Mail suggestions can also trigger actions in third-party apps, which opens up many possible connections depending on the tools you use.
Apple has been careful to describe the on-device processing angle as a core part of these features rather than a fine-print footnote. Call Context does not phone home, and the Mail scanning for relevant context stays local.
For anyone who has hesitated on AI features because of data concerns, the technical setup is meaningfully different from cloud-dependent alternatives that require your data to leave the device to work at all.
