Artificial intelligence played a role important role in developing new iPhone features for years. Tools you probably use regularly, like the camera’s Portrait mode and the ability to copy and paste text from photos, are two examples of AI at work behind the scenes.
But at Apple Worldwide Developers Conferencewe hope to discover how Apple could take it to the next level by potentially bringing generative AI to the iPhone.
Generative AI, or AI models trained on large volumes of data that create content in response to prompts, has exploded in popularity following the success of ChatGPT. Tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung, and Amazon, among others, have introduced generative AI into their biggest products over the past year. Apple, however, has remained tight-lipped about its generative AI plans, although CEO Tim Cook has announced updates for 2024.
“But we have some things that we’re incredibly excited about that we’ll talk about later this year,” Cook said in response to a question about generative AI on a computer. call for results.
Between Cook’s comments, new research papers and the acquisition of AI startups, Apple is clearly onto something. Here’s what Apple’s AI plans for the iPhone could look like, based on reports that have circulated in recent months.
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iOS 18 will likely be full of AI features
Apple’s expected iOS 18 update will likely bring a number of new AI features, according to reports.
Apple’s next major iPhone operating system, likely to be called iOS 18, is expected to introduce a ton of new AI features to the iPhone. This could be the most important update since the original iPhone in Apple’s eyes, says Bloomberg.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, was tasked with implementing a set of new tools in iOS powered by the company’s big language model, Bloomberg Reports.
New AI features coming to iPhone could include providing news summaries and notifications, voice memo transcriptions, photo editing tools, and improvements to app recommendations and how events automatically appear on your calendar, depending on a more recent Bloomberg report.
The company plans to offer a mix of features processed on the device and in the cloud, the report said. On-device AI is generally considered more secure and private because the data does not necessarily have to leave your device but generally requires more powerful processors. This is why Siri is only capable of answer health-related questions on the Apple Watch Series 9 And Apple Watch Ultra 2, that run on the company’s latest smartwatch chips.
It’s also possible that Apple will wait until September to announce new AI features alongside its next-generation iPhone, which is expected to be called the iPhone16. That’s what Bernstein analysts Toni Sacconaghi and Daniel Zhu predict, according to a research note reported by the financial news site. In search of Alpha.
“We expect most AI features to be revealed with iPhone in September, rather than at WWDC, consistent with other key software features such as Dynamic Island, Siri and FaceTime, which have all introduced at the time of the phone’s launch,” the note notes. said, by Looking for Alpha. “We view the timing of AI features such as a multi-modal Siri and AI wellness coach as less clear.”
Samsung and Google have already provided insight into how generative AI is changing smartphones. Both companies offer features that let you rewrite text messages in a different tone before hitting the send button and photo-editing tools that let you fill in empty spaces in a photo after moving an object. At its I/O Developer Conference in May, Google also showed off how its Gemini AI assistant works. a bigger role in Android phones. It’s possible that Apple will take a similar approach, although we won’t know for sure until iOS 18 arrives.
Apple could partner with OpenAI
Apple could announce a partnership with OpenAI, according to Bloomberg.
Apple would work with OpenAI to integrate the manufacturer’s ChatGPT technology into iOS 18, Bloomberg reported. It’s unclear exactly how OpenAI technology will appear in iOS, but Bloomberg said the deal could result in an AI-powered chatbot coming to the iPhone. The two companies are reportedly considering announcing their collaboration at WWDC.
Apple has also had similar discussions with Google regarding its Gemini AI system, according to reports from Bloomberg, The New York Times And The Wall Street Journalalthough the most recent report from Bloomberg indicates that those discussions did not result in a partnership.
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Based on these reports, it appears that Apple is focusing its efforts on new AI models designed to work locally, while also looking for a partner for cloud-based AI. This wouldn’t really be a surprise; Apple prides itself on creating new features and technologies that take full advantage of the way hardware and software work together. This is much easier to do when you don’t need to rely on a third party for data processing.
It also wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has partnered with another company on certain technologies and components. Google already pays billions to Apple of dollars to be the default search engine on iPhones, for example, and Qualcomm supplies Apple with 5G modems for the iPhone.
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A smarter Siri
Siri may benefit from a performance improvement.
Siri seems like a natural area for Apple to apply AI advances and reporting Information And Bloomberg suggests it could do just that. Information reported last year that Apple had increased its efforts to improve Siri in automating tasks. The report cites the ability to ask Siri to create GIFs from your last five photos and then share them as an example of the types of use cases Apple has in mind.
We won’t know what Apple’s plans are until it announces them. But automation features like those mentioned above seem like a fitting evolution for Siri, which builds on its existing shortcuts functionality.
An AI App Store
The iPhone App Store logo.
Apple could launch a new AI App Store, according to Ben Reitzes, head of technology research at Melius Research, who spoke with CNBC.
“In June, we should start to see them laying the groundwork for this new app store, how it’s going to work with AI, how you can buy AI apps through the App Store ” he said during the CNBC interview.
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There are a lot of unanswered questions, such as whether this supposed AI app store would be for the iPhone, the Mac, or all Apple products. It’s also unclear whether Reitzes is referring to an entirely separate App Store or a new section of the current App Store focused on AI applications. The latter seems more in line with Apple’s usual approach. Either way, emphasizing AI in the App Store would speak to the importance of the technology from Apple’s perspective.
A new chip with more AI processing power
Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which powers the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Apple’s next iPhone processor, likely called A18, is expected to offer better AI performance for the iPhone 16 lineup, according to a Taiwanese media report. Daily economic news and analyst Jeff Pu, as MacRumors reported. AI has been a major area of focus for years, with Apple increasingly expanding the capabilities of the neural engine inside its A-series chips. But given that Apple is expected to develop new iPhone features based powered by AI and relying on local processing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see larger upgrades.
Apple is not usually the first to bring new product categories to market. Instead, he is known for popularizing technologies, as he did with smartphones, smartwatches and tablets. Regardless of Apple’s approach, all eyes will be on the company to do the same with AI and generative AI.
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