Cupertino, California
CNN
—
Apple has just kicked off a whole new era for the company with the introduction of its first generative AI features for the iPhone.
At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the company unveiled the first batch of tools powered by “Apple Intelligence,” from personalized Genmoji — Apple’s AI-generated emoji — to a significantly smarter Siri , who can answer questions about your schedule, what’s in it. your email and the landing time of your loved one’s flight.
It also announced a partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to optimize features. While the partnership will likely give the company a much-needed boost, Apple is aligning itself with a company and technology that has yet to earn the public’s trust, facing criticism for taking the user inputs and having them integrated into the ChatGPT dataset, this could pose some challenges in the future. road.
Apple emphasized privacy and security during its presentation, noting that most AI functions will be performed on the phone, keeping input away from a remote server cloud.
A strong push toward AI could drive iPhone sales and service growth in the coming years as users now wait longer to upgrade their devices and an uncertain economic environment weighs on consumers, especially in China. The company is also undergoing regulatory review in Washington and has been pass this week by chipmaker Nvidia, the second-largest public company in the United States.
The company said it had been impressed with the generative AI tools already on the market, but wanted to make them more personal with privacy in mind.
“As we look to integrate these incredible new capabilities, we want to ensure that the result reflects the principles that are at the heart of our products, it must be powerful enough to help you with the things that matter most to you,” he said. said Tim, CEO of Apple. Cook said during the opening speech. “It must be intuitive and easy to use. It should be deeply integrated into your product experiences.
He added: “Most importantly, it must understand you and be grounded in your personal context, such as your routine, your relationships, your communications, etc. And, of course, it must be built with privacy in mind, from the ground up.
The timing is also notable: Apple is not always the first to adopt and integrate emerging technologies – it typically researches, develops and aims to perfect new technologies for years before including them in new products – but the speed to which the world adopts generative AI is perhaps accelerating the enterprise’s need for a smartphone with the most advanced technology.
Here’s a look at what Apple announced at its big event:
AI, AI and more AI
Apple is adopting generative AI – the dynamic form of artificial intelligence that can provide thoughtful, in-depth answers to questions – through Siri, the company’s virtual assistant with a track record of success or failure, essentially turning it into a chatbot for iPhone.
This could allow Siri to perform specific tasks such as recalling a photo taken years ago on the device or answering detailed questions about the weather, news or trivia. It can also perform more advanced tasks, like responding when a user’s mother’s plane lands, by analyzing information previously sent in an email. Over time, it could learn the user’s preferences and react accordingly.
This is reminiscent of what some competitors have already introduced in generative tools. Siri will likely automatically and seamlessly adapt to users, based on voice, audio and natural language, as well as images and contextual cues.
Users will also be able to create personalized photos, such as taking a photo of your mother and making a stylized, cartoon-like version of it, adding a superhero cape. It can act on all applications, in particular by asking the software to extract all the photos of a family member, and to recover and analyze data from your applications, for example by taking into account what is on your screen, like email or a calendar.
If a meeting is rescheduled, Apple Intelligence can process relevant personal data and see the email your child sent a few days ago about a recital, alerting users if there is a conflict.
In a Q&A session after the keynote, Cook once again said the company is taking privacy and security very seriously with the rollout of the new technology.
“We believe that the role of AI is not to replace users but to empower them,” he said. “When you think about what is possible, it should be embedded in experience, be intuitive and informed by your personal context and self-knowledge. If you do this, you have a great responsibility.
Apple kicked off its iOS 18 portion of the event by highlighting the new controls and customization coming to iOS 18, including an overhauled look for all icons when switching to dark mode, a new tint color that completes the wallpaper and a redesigned control center available. from the lock screen, so you can swap the flashlight icon for other tools.
Apple said it is also doubling down on privacy and security, such as giving users the ability to “lock” certain apps, making them accessible only via Face ID, Touch ID or password. of a user. This feature could be particularly useful for protecting apps like a banking app, an insurance app, or if you’re handing over your phone to show photos or get someone’s phone number.
Users can now also “hide” an app, so that it only appears in a hidden, locked folder. And media from hidden apps won’t appear anywhere else on their phone.
Text messages are also seeing an increase. The company announced that it will soon allow people to text via satellite, even if they don’t have a cellular or WiFi connection. Apple is also adding what it calls one of the most requested features in iMessage: the ability to schedule messages.
iPhone users will now be able to record and create call transcripts directly from the phone app. All parties to the call will be notified upon recording.
The company has also made software updates for other products, including the Mac, AirPods and Apple Watch.
Apple introduced its latest MacOS software called Sequoia, with a handful of new productivity features. Phone mirroring, for example, will bring iPhone alerts directly to the laptop which will appear directly alongside Mac notifications.
MacOS will also support the ability to arrange open windows on the screen in certain areas, for example side by side – a concept popularized by Microsoft Windows.
Video conferencing benefits from a presenter preview, so users can see what they’re going to share before they share it. Apple is also introducing background replacement during calls, so users can hide laundry behind them.
Meanwhile, AirPods users will be able to answer or decline a call with a simple nod or shake of their head. And new vitals tracking on Apple Watch can alert users when they’re at risk of getting sick, based on signals like body temperature and heart rate.
Just a few months after its launch, Apple introduced some upgrades to the software that powers its Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
During his latest earnings conference call, Cook said more than half of Fortune 100 companies have already purchased an Apple Vision Pro. “(We) are exploring innovative ways to use it to do things that weren’t possible before,” he added.
Vision OS 2 promises to deliver richer experiences for users, like a wider display for desktops, new hand gestures that let you check battery life or open the home screen , and explore the photos in your library, thanks to advanced features. machine learning that provides more natural depth.
The company said it is also adding more features that allow users to capture spatial videos.
Apple is also bringing Vision Pro to more countries, including the UK, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia, this summer.
The upgrades could also boost sales of the pricey Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499. Demand for Apple’s new headset has would have been weak.
CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report
