Over the past two years, the world has watched as a series of incredible artificial intelligence (AI) tools have emerged, and everyone was wondering one thing: when will Apple join the party? Now we finally have an answer.
During a recent earnings call (via The Verge), Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that AI tools are coming to the company’s devices as early as “later this year.” Cook then added, “I think there’s a huge opportunity for Apple with generative AI.” Although the Apple CEO did not reveal any specifics, the small amount he did discuss was enough to set tongues wagging and speculation afoot.
It’s no surprise that Apple is working on generative AI tools – Cook admitted as much in August 2023, when he explained that Apple has been developing its own generative AI “for years.” But the latest admission is the first time we’ve seen someone put a launch date on things, even if it’s a very rough date.
Considering this is a software update (and a big one at that), it seems likely that Apple has its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in mind. The company will use this June event to unveil its upcoming operating systems and software upgrades (such as iOS 18). And since the audience is mostly developers, it makes sense that Apple would promote something called generative AI, which would give developers a new tool in their iOS arsenal.
Additionally, industry analyst Jeff Pu has previously claimed that iOS 18 will be one of Apple’s biggest software updates ever precisely because of the addition of generative AI, so Cook’s statements seem to confirm Pu’s claim. That means there’s a lot to look forward to at WWDC – and some big new features coming to your iPhone.
What’s on the way?
The most likely upgrade Cook is referring to is a rebooted version of Apple’s Siri voice assistant. Bloomberg’s trusted Apple commentator Mark Gurman recently predicted that iOS 18 will be “one of the biggest iOS updates – if not the biggest – in the company’s history” and that much of this will have to do with a “major upgrade to Siri ”.
According to another respected leaker RevegnusApple is building its own LLM (large language model) to “completely renew Siri into the ultimate virtual assistant”. It’s about time – while Siri was impressive when it landed over a decade ago, it has plateaued since then. So we can expect much more chatty and powerful voice assistant by the end of 2024.
But what else could benefit from the generative AI that Apple has been working on? Messages, Apple Music and Pages are all expected to see significant AI-based improvements later this year, with some of Apple’s rivals recently giving us hints at what to expect. Google Messages will soon get Bard powers for texting help, while Spotify has already shown that the future of streaming lies in AI-powered DJs.
Finally, there are photography and video, but it seems likely that Apple will proceed more cautiously here than Samsung and Google. The Galaxy S24 cameras are all about AI skills, which are quite a mixed bag. While Instant Slow-Mo (which generates additional video frames to convert standard 4K/60p video into slow motion clips) is very clever and useful, Genative Edit opens the floodgates to digital counterfeiting (even with its watermarks).
It will be fascinating to see how Apple walks this line in all aspects of the iPhone. But another important iPhone feature, privacy, could also ensure that Apple doesn’t get too carried away with generative AI…
Why Apple is taking its time
Apple has been constantly criticized for not launching its own generative AI, especially since arch-rival Microsoft has been so decisive in spreading its Copilot AI to virtually every aspect of Windows and its own apps.
But there’s likely a reason for Apple’s slowness, and it has to do with user privacy. Apple takes a strong stance on this, often citing the privacy-protecting capabilities of its devices as one of their key benefits. AI tools are known to collect user data and are known for privacy violations, so it’s no surprise that Apple has taken its time on this, presumably to ensure its AI promotes privacy as best as possible.
Furthermore, Apple typically doesn’t rush into a new market before it’s ready, preferring to wait a little longer before blowing away its rivals with something it thinks is far superior. We’ve seen that with the original iPhone, for example, and also with the Apple Vision Pro, and it looks like generative AI is just the latest to get this treatment from Apple.
Whether Apple’s own AI is actually better than ChatGPT and Copilot remains to be seen, but it seems like we’ll find out sooner or later.