Apple took the stage at its WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2024 to announce an array of advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their products, set to release later in the year. With a traditionally slow adoption pace for AI, the company is set to incorporate AI in all aspects of their devices’ functionality, pushing into an intelligence-driven era.
Apple plans to infuse its “Apple Intelligence” into its iPhone, iPad, and computer products. The new AI tools will be available for users having an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPad or Mac devices powered by the M1 chip.
Some of the new offerings include advanced editing, summarizing, and writing suggestions in apps like Mail. Apple Intelligence integrates functionalities previously scattered across multiple apps, enabling shared functionality and personalized user experience. A significant innovation is within the photo editing tools that enable object removal and other complex tasks.
One such example that caught everyone’s attention on social media was the AI-powered Math Notes feature within the iPadOS 18. Often available only in individual apps, with Apple Intelligence, such features work across apps and are personalized depending on user context.
In matters of privacy, many features will run on-device. More complex processing would be delegated to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers to maintain privacy standards.
Siri, their voice assistant, also received an upgrade. New capabilities will allow Siri to understand and respond to more complex and natural language requests, now able to retain and recall context. User can ask a series of questions without having to initiate each conversation with a “Hey Siri”. An example to illustrate this would be asking Siri about the weather in New York and follow up with related queries about flights. Siri can connect the dots to carry the context.
Apple’s partnership with OpenAI marks a significant milestone. While ChatGPT iOS app has been functional for a while, the partnership signifies its integration into the iOS, improving image, document understanding, and more, without the hassle of switching tools. User privacy is paramount with Apple and OpenAI ensures that interaction requests aren’t stored and IP addresses are kept obscure.
However, the partnership has drawn skepticism from tech mogul Elon Musk, who expressed distrust towards Apple’s alliance with OpenAI concerning user data privacy, going as far as contemplating a ban on Apple devices within his companies to maintain data privacy protocols.
Regardless of the varying views, the AI enhancements led by the OpenAI partnership are impressive features for the iOS18, and show Apple’s commitment to advancing AI in their technology.