Will Apple make a big bet on AI at WWDC 2024? Almost certainly – but it might ‘think differently’
You can’t wave a metaphorical cat in a virtual room without some tech-savvy person harping on about AI. And in the past year, interest in AI has exploded thanks to the rise of generative AI; for the uninitiated, those are smart algorithms and modes that can essentially create things based on various commands and inputs, rather than acting as a smart assistant.
As such, we saw the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro go hard with generative AI, especially with the Magic Editor and smart features that can handle almost all calls for you. Samsung then did the same with the Galaxy S24 series, on which the rather snazzy Circle to Search AI feature made its debut. Google I/O was a celebration of AI announcements and forward thinking, with Gemini AI in the spotlight.
So that leads me to think: what will Apple do with AI and generative AI at WWDC 2024? The Cupertino crew will certainly be talking about AI, as we’ve seen it pop up with the launch of the new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models, both with the M4 chip designed for running AI workloads.
But will it also delve deeply into generative AI, in the same vein as Google? That’s a trickier question to answer – not that I can answer it, as Apple remains tight-lipped about pretty much everything, so this is all educated speculation. However, I would be willing to bet that Apple will indeed go big in AI, but will do it in a slightly different way than its rival; it will ‘think differently’ if you allow the wry joke.
Seamless and consumer-oriented
While Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is, as the name suggests, a developer-centric showcase, it is also clearly consumer-focused. Ultimately, all announcements have Apple’s end users in mind, meaning people like you and me, and creative types who use MacBooks in fancy coffee shops.
By that I mean that generative AI tools will be neatly integrated into Apple’s platforms. I think calendars are automatically developed and shown in your iPhone notifications as AI technology searches your calendar and emails – with your permission, of course. Smooth automatic editing for videos and photos that turns mediocre shots into something more presentable at the touch of a button, or even shows suggestions in real time.
Smart fitness features that let you customize your exercise and diet plans using data from your iPhone and Apple Watch sensors. Smartly crafted playlists created directly in Apple Music with the simple command “make me a playlist for a summer party.” Automatically generated summaries of meetings, phone calls, presentations or even the latest Apple TV Plus show. And smarter search, web page summaries and information appearing in Safari and in iOS 18 and macOS.
Furthermore, we can expect a major AI upgrade for Siri. Not only is that floating the idea that Apple’s virtual assistant could benefit from ChatGPT, but Siri may be the dumbass of virtual assistants compared to Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, so it’s high time for a dose new smart features. .
The general idea here is that Apple will certainly make generative AI tools feel more like part of the experience of using an iPhone, iPad, MacBook or Apple Watch, rather than having features you have to actively search for or enable, something that is perhaps the most important. case for the aforementioned Pixel and Galaxy phones.
And I think this is the key to actually getting the general public interested Using AI in a holistic way. The point is that it feels natural and useful, rather than a nice to have or an ‘oh that’s cool’ feature that you only use once.
I think this is in the context of the iPhone 15 Pro’s action button. At first it seemed a bit pointless given its limited scope, but once I set it up to activate the flashlight feature in iOS, it just became something I use without thinking. Apple’s ability to make new features that might seem a tad ‘meh’ suddenly useful and hassle-free to use is something that many other tech brands could continue to learn from.
Alone or together?
The other question about Apple and AI at WWDC 2024 is whether Apple will use internal AI models or partner with third-party generative AI developers.
Apple is no stranger to AI, as machine learning technology has been used in multiple generations of iPhones to deliver the best phone photos. But the best generative AI technology will certainly require multimodal models – where data can be collected from multiple sources and sensors and then processed together – which could allow Apple to step outside its walled garden and seek help.
Such help would come from OpenAI and its ChatGPT models, although there were also some rumors that Apple could turn to Google’s Gemini AI.
It’s standard practice to think of Apple as the company that does its own thing. But I see it joining forces with one of the big AI players to tap trained AI models, while offering the customer experience and hardware that is so attractive to millions of people around the world.
Ultimately, this is all thinking on my part, based on almost a decade of working in technology journalism, so I could be completely wrong about Apple’s approach to AI and the power of WWDC this year. But I’m confident in my predictions and think this will be a conference to watch.
Speaking of which, if you want to watch the keynote live, check out our guide on how to watch WWDC 2024. And if you want all the latest news from WWDC, including rumors leading up to it, you’ve come to the right place – Ny Breaking will also be at the conference, so be sure to check back here for more news, views and analysis.