A diary is only useful if you can find things in it again. In Shaterian you do not have to search. You ask, in your own words, and the answer shows which of your memories it came from.
In short
- Smith, the companion inside Shaterian, answers questions about your life from what you have told him. You can rename him.
- An answer about your life shows which memories it came from: press and hold the answer to see them. When your memories do not hold the answer, he says so rather than making something up.
- With Apple Intelligence, on iPhone 15 Pro or later, he writes the answer from your memories. Without it, he tells you how many of your memories match and who is in them, and lists them under the answer.
What you can ask
Ask the way you would ask a person, out loud or typed. For example:
- “Tell me about Reza.”
- “When did I last go to the harbour?”
- “What's changed lately?”
Where the answers come from
Answers about your life come only from what you have given Shaterian: the memories you have spoken or typed, the photographs and workouts you chose to bring in, and files such as PDFs, Word documents and photographs of pages, each kept whole and searchable. Smith does not know what you have not told him.
To see the memories an answer came from, press and hold the answer. Then you can read them for yourself.
When the answer is not there
He says so. An answer about your own life is only worth having if it is true, so Smith does not fill the gaps with guesses. If nothing you have told him answers the question, he tells you plainly.
With and without Apple Intelligence
On iPhones with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro and later, with Apple Intelligence turned on), Smith writes the answer in sentences, drawn from your memories. On other iPhones he tells you how many of your memories match and who is in them, and lists them under the answer. Either way, you can read the memories themselves.
Questions about the wider world, beyond your own life, need Apple Intelligence.
What's changed
In the Twin room, the What's changed tab compares this month with the month before, in plain sentences: how many memories you kept, which people and places came up more, less or for the first time, and the feeling that came up most. You can also ask Smith, “What's changed lately?”
What he will not do
Smith does not give medical advice. Questions about diagnosis, dosage or whether to change a treatment are recognised and turned back to your own care team, rather than answered by a model.
Your memories are kept on your iPhone, and that is where Smith reads them. If you switch on Sync with iCloud, they are kept in your own iCloud too. There is no account and no server of ours.
Questions people ask
Does Smith know things I have not told him?
Not about your life. He answers from your own memories, and says so when they hold nothing on the question.
How can I check an answer?
Press and hold an answer about your life to see which memories it came from, and read them yourself.
Do I need Apple Intelligence?
No. Without it, Smith tells you how many of your memories match and who is in them, and lists them under the answer. With it, on iPhone 15 Pro or later, he writes the answer from them.
Can I ask out loud?
Yes. Ask out loud or type, whichever is easier.
Will he answer medical questions?
No. Questions about diagnosis, dosage or changing a treatment are turned back to your own care team.
