Reflection and insight
Why Cove requires Apple Intelligence
The screen you may see at launch, what each state means, and why the answer is a gate rather than a lesser version.
Cove checks for Apple Intelligence when it launches. On-device AI is the product here rather than a garnish, so a half-working Cove would be worse than an honest explanation.
What you need
iPhone 15 Pro or later, or an iPad with M1 or later, running iOS 26 or later, with Apple Intelligence turned on in Settings and the on-device model finished downloading.
What you might see
- Hardware that cannot run Apple Intelligence: a full-screen explanation instead of the app. This one is an honest dead end.
- Apple Intelligence turned off: a screen with a direct path into iOS Settings, which clears itself when you come back.
- The model still downloading: an explanation that resolves on its own the next time you open Cove.
Why not a lesser version instead
Writing, photos, voice, tags, moods, search, export, and the app lock are not AI features, but the reflection engine is the reason Cove exists. A build without it would be a plain text editor with a paywall, so Cove does not ship one.
Email support@obsidianridgelabs.com, a real person will reply.