The Memories feature in the Photos app has had a big update with iOS 18.1, especially if you can use Apple Intelligence. You can now create your own custom Memories by typing in any word or phrase you want to find, and the Photos app will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a personalised memory movie with music, videos, and photos – and it’s super easy to use.

In the Memories section of the Photos app, you’ll now see a big new section called Create a Memory Movie. From here, you’ll get a few suggestions, but you can simply tap and type anything you like into the search box. You can use people’s names, pets’ names, locations, dates, events, or special occasions – whatever you want to create your memory movie from. Simply type it in, and the Photos app will use Apple Intelligence to find relevant content.

When I press Go, you’ll see a beautiful animation as the AI analyses your photo library. Underneath, you’ll see keywords being generated as the AI discovers them – perhaps the names of people, dates, or places featured in the photos. And just like that, when it’s finished, you’ll have your own personal memory movie.

Here, I’ve got a lovely memory of music festivals in Cornwall, which is just what I asked for. It starts autoplaying, and if I tap Photos at the bottom, I can view all the images and videos that were selected. You can even use the three dots in the top corner to edit the title, or add and remove pictures as you like.

I think I’ll quickly change the key photo, which is the main one you see when you first scroll to that memory in the Photos app, and then I can play the movie and enjoy it whenever I like. It’s even chosen a soundtrack for me – a bit of LCD Soundsystem, the perfect fit for those Cornish festivals!