Apple is preparing to throw its hat in the AI ring with the announcement of its new generative AI platform, Apple Intelligence.
Unveiled at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, AI will be integrated across various Apple products, including iPhone, Mac, Mail, Messages, and Photos.
“We’re thrilled to introduce a new chapter in Apple innovation. Apple Intelligence will transform what users can do with our products — and what our products can do for our users,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
Launching this fall, it will be available for iPhone 15 Pro, iPads, and Macs with M1 series chips or newer.
Apart from AI, Apple also announced that its flagship virtual assistant Siri will receive significant upgrades, comprehending language on a deeper level and becoming more contextual, natural, and personal.
This includes the capability of understanding misspoken commands and maintaining context over multiple requests, even asking follow-up questions.
Users can talk to Siri through text, typing out commands when they don’t feel like speaking.
The voice tool will also be able to interact with the onscreen and offscreen contents of a device, analyzing text and images in real-time to accomplish various tasks, such as:
- Recognizing and saving addresses from Messages
- Checking email history to find forgotten information
- Searching for photos based on a description, then sending them to a friend
- Finding and opening saved files and web pages
Language Capabilities
Apple Intelligence will introduce Writing Tools, a systemwide feature that helps users with rewriting, proofreading, summarizing, and generating content across Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.
Rewrite can generate multiple versions of a user’s writing to let them adjust the tone for any situation, while Summarize will let users highlight any given text to receive a recap in the form of bullet points, a list, a table, or a short paragraph.
Additionally, users will be able to record, transcribe, and summarize audio directly from the Notes and Phone apps.
Emails have also been streamlined, with a Priority Messages feature that can automatically scan inboxes to highlight the most important messages for the day with Summaries and Smart Reply tools.
Priority Notifications will analyze the most urgent notifications to show key details on the Lock Screen.
Meanwhile, Reduce Interruptions is a revamped Focus mode that will only highlight important notifications, such as urgent text messages.
Image and Emoji Generation
One of Apple Intelligence’s most prominent new features is the Image Playground, which will help users express their creativity by generating images in three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch.
Image Playground will be built into apps, including Messages, while also having a separate dedicated app.
Notably, the feature will let users apply accessories, clothing, themes, and places to their photos by typing in a description.
Personal photos from the Camera Roll can also be used to generate more specific features.
Finally, users can now experience creating their very own custom emojis with Genmoji, using written descriptions or photos.
As of now, only the generation of human emojis has been announced.
ChatGPT Integration
ChatGPT will be accessible from experiences within iOS18, iPadOS18, and macOS Sequoia, letting users use its capabilities without switching apps.
Siri can consult with ChatGPT, asking for permission to send it questions, documents, or photos before reporting back the answer.
ChatGPT will also be integrated into Writing Tools, helping users write content for any topic, as well as generate images in many styles to go with their writing.
Apple Intelligence will rely on "understanding deep personal context while also protecting user privacy" to be more helpful.
In line with this, most basic AI functions will utilize on-device processing.
Complex requests that require more processing power will be done on the secure and privacy-focused Private Cloud Compute.
AI Market and Developments
Wall Street anticipated Apple’s announcement after Microsoft and Google each integrated AI with their latest tech.
However, competitors have each faced their own set of challenges.
Google’s AI Overviews was criticized for inaccuracy and unsafe suggestions, while Microsoft’s Recall app raised a long list of security concerns.
Meta’s AI chatbot also faced backlash for its lack of user controls.
While Apple maintains a solid reputation for security and reliable software, it remains to be seen how the tech giant’s latest venture will fare.
Apple Intelligence is set to release in September.
