Image Playground displays "unable to use that description" for every entry?

I have tried everything I can think of, and "Image Playground" does not work as advertised or as I imagined. Unable to use that description comes up even when I load an image, let alone try to create one.

Is there no one that can help?

I have also tried some of the other features of "Apple Intelligence, which are lacking." I will stick with my other apps until something significantly changes.

Sorry, but it is an actual downer not to have things work as described on my Macbook Pro 2016, which is upgraded to the latest version.

I have the same problem on both M1 and M4 pro Mac Minis.

Try this maybe?

I originally enabled Apple Intelligence on iPhone 16 pro, downloaded the models, and played around a bit. All worked, but not impressed. I then turned it off in Settings (so it wasn’t constantly running in background). Came back a few days later, turned AI back on and tried Image Playground again and kept getting the “unable to use description” errors.

So I went back and looked in settings, and it showed it was still “downloading models…”. Didn’t realize they need to be downloaded each time you turn on. You’d think they’d keep those locally. So I waited a bit, restarted phone and Image Playground and it seems to be working again for me. (Still not overly impressed tho…)

It doesn't work in my profile - BUT if I set up a new admin account then it works. Likely some bug in Settings/General/Login items/Extensions affecting it loading correctly~ I'm guessing we'll have to wait for a software update as the app can't be deleted and reinstalled. Any thoughts?

Works on my iPhone 15 pro but not Macbook Pro M3.

Having the same issue in brand new M4 Mac Mini, "unable to use that description" message every single time. Added a new user as per your suggestion and it now works under that user. Hope a fix is coming soon. Thanks for providing a solution!

Image playground, genmoji and all the other Apple Intelligence features are working fine on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPad Pro M1 and MacBook Pro M1. Why they aren't on your device(s), we can't diagnose for you as this is a user to user only forum.

I'd recommend contacting Apple Support for direct assistance. If you're in the US, you can call Apple at: 800-MY-APPLE. You can visit an Apple Store. You can use the support button at the bottom of this page.

Without knowing more information, we can't possibly help you:

1. Where are you located in the world?
2. Have you actually downloaded Apple Intelligence to your iPhone
3. Are you updated to iOS 18.2
4. What is the exact model of your iPhone? Go to Settings > General > About > Model

I had the same issue, I closed this app after a while opened it again. It worked. I guess it’s unstable, not user’s problem.

I have the same issue on my M4 Mac Mini, tried for the last couple of days, still No Joy.

Hello, mi_y_im.

I have the same problem on both M1 and M4 pro Mac Minis.

In the image that you provided, the only thing selected was “Party Hat.” How is Apple Intelligence supposed to know what is going to be wearing the party hat? That’s might be why it says that it is unable to use that description.

If you do try adding something in there, like a person, and it doesn’t work, read lobsterghost1’s post.

I hope this helps!

Hello, RickyBallgame!

I had the same problem with the front facing camera pictures, but when I tried with rear facing camera, it seemed to work.

That’s very odd. You should definitely submit a bug report on the iPhone feedback page.

I hope this gets fixed soon!

I had the same problem with the front facing camera pictures, but when I tried with rear facing camera, it seemed to work.

Also, it seems pretty limited in what photo you select to start with. I continually tried pix with multiple people—but also got that message.

[Edited by Moderator]

Once the models were downloaded… I had the same issue, but then I closed the app and reopened, and it worked fine.

Glad it worked for you. 👍