5 AI features the iPhone 16 could have to challenge the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8
Apple will most likely lean on generative AI features for the much-rumored iPhone 16. Like it or not, the Cupertino team will have to adopt this new generation of artificial intelligence technology in order not to cede ground to the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and Google Pixel. 8 lineup, both of which come with generative AI tools baked in.
But Apple doesn’t simply imitate other people’s technology. While it may be slow to adopt the features of others—think 120Hz displays and USB-C—it generally offers better implementation; although you could argue that Apple hasn’t done enough with the move to USB-C on its iPhone 15 models.
So that makes me think about how Apple could use generative AI to differentiate itself from the rest of our picks for the best phones. Some of the below may be wishful thinking and wild speculation, but other parts come from educated hypotheses.
Generative AI built into Siri
I’ve never been a big Siri user and prefer smarter and more capable virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. But Siri has been getting smarter and I think there’s an opportunity to give the assistant a chance by injecting it with generative AI.
Phones like the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra implement generative AI in certain apps or exist as a dedicated tool – think Circle to Search or the Magic Editor. But you can’t ask the likes of Bixby or the Google Assistant to edit a photo for you or provide natural language descriptions of what’s happening on the screen; at least not yet.
But if Apple could build generative AI models into Siri, we could have an assistant that could answer questions like “come up with a plan for my day based on my emails” or “draw me a picture of a dog on the moon”, or more likely “edit this photo for me”.
Doing so will not only make using such AI features feel seamless, it could also go a way to demystify the use of generative AI for non-tech-savvy users. And knowing how Apple presents and markets such technology, I could see such a move proving very popular.
Smart video editing
Magic Editor on the Pixel 8 and Genative Edit on the Galaxy S24 phones are two powerful, if not perfect, generative AI tools. This allows you to recompose a photo without any knowledge of Photoshop. But it’s likely that people are so skilled with mobile photography and built-in editing tools that such a feature could be somewhat redundant.
So Apple could be blazing a trail using generative AI with videos. Imagine being able to intelligently generate clips from a video by using an AI-powered editor or simply by asking Siri to create a reel of video footage; such a feature could be immensely useful for content creators.
Since iPhones tend to take the lead in video in the smartphone space, I can definitely see Apple using generative AI to maintain its lead and remain the video champion of our best camera phones list.
AI-powered language translations aren’t new, but generative AI has helped deliver better and real-time translations through phones like the Pixel 8. Apple is somewhat lagging behind here, so it would make sense to embrace AI live transactions at a granular level. with the ability to translate verbal conversations.
But it could go even further, for example by letting Siri automatically detect different languages and provide answers. Or perhaps AI technology can cleverly switch a phone’s language to that of a native speaker when showing someone an email or block of text.
Smart call screening
Call screening with generative AI-powered responses is something that some of the best Android phones can offer. So it’s time for Apple to do the same.
I love using my iPhone 15 Pro Max, but since some spam calls get through, I would appreciate a smart call screening feature that can deliver polite but direct responses without my intervention.
Supercharged cards
Apple Maps is no longer the dud it used to be compared to Google Maps, but I would still like it to have smarter features.
In this case, I’d like to see generative AI built in so I can ask natural language questions to the app and get recommendations and guidance based on what I want to see, where I am, the time I need to spend, and my budget . Such tools might even cause me to stop using Google Maps, something I would normally never do.