Millions of iPhones will be 'transformed' thanks to iOS 18

Artificial Intelligence and machine learning have played an important role on the iPhone for years, providing features like Portrait Mode for the camera and the ability to copy and paste text. version from photo. Along with that, at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference - WWDC 2024, the tech world expects to learn about how the company can take it to the next level by bringing AI to the iPhone.

Millions of iPhones will be 'transformed' thanks to iOS 18 Picture 1

Generative AI or AI models trained on large volumes of data, helping to create content according to prompts, have "exploded" in popularity after the success of ChatGPT. Technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung and Amazon, among others, have introduced AI into their biggest products over the past year. However, Apple remains silent about its AI development plans.

Below is Apple's AI plan for the iPhone based on reports in recent months as compiled by Cnet.

iOS 18 will be full of AI features

Apple's next big iPhone operating system - iOS 18 is expected to introduce a lot of new AI features for the iPhone. According to Bloomberg, this could be the most important update since the first iPhone.

Bloomberg reported that Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, has been tasked with implementing a series of new tools into iOS supported by the company's large language model. The public can expect to see improvements in the Messages and Siri apps, the report said. However, this is not an alternative to Apple's ChatGPT.

Samsung and Google provided a glimpse of how AI is changing smartphones. Both companies offer features that can rewrite text messages in a different tone before hitting the send button, and photo editing tools that can fill in gaps in photos after moving an object . "Battened Apple" could take a similar approach.

Google may offer some new AI features

According to reports from Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks with Google and OpenAI about using their respective AI models to power some upcoming features for the iPhone. These models will be used for cloud processing AI features, Bloomberg reported. Additionally, Apple is also rumored to be planning to use its own models for future software tools, which can be processed on the device without needing a cloud connection.

On-device AI is more secure and private because the data doesn't need to leave the device, which typically requires a more powerful processor. That's why Siri is only capable of answering health-related questions on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, which run on the company's latest smartwatch chips.

Based on reports, Apple is focusing its efforts on new AI models designed to run locally, while also looking for partners for cloud-based AI.

This also isn't the first time Apple has partnered with another company on certain technologies and components. For example, Google paid Apple billions of dollars to be the default search engine on iPhones, and Qualcomm provided Apple with 5G modems for iPhones.

Siri is smarter

Siri would be the right application for Apple to apply AI advances and reports from The Information and Bloomberg show that the company can do that. Last year, The Information reported, Apple doubled down on its efforts to help Siri automate tasks better.

Automation features like those mentioned above are a fitting evolution for Siri that builds on the existing Shortcuts functionality.

AI App Store

Talking to CNBC, Ben Reitzes - head of technology research at Melius Research said that Apple may launch a new App Store AI application store.

He said:

'In June, we'll start to see it lay the groundwork for this new app store, in terms of how they work with AI, how users can buy AI apps through the App Store.'

Regardless of how it is applied, emphasizing AI in the App Store will be a testament to the importance of this technology to "Apple".

A new chip with higher AI processing power

According to Economic Daily News and analyst Jeff Pu, MacRumors, Apple's next iPhone processor - expected to be the A18 - will bring better AI performance to the iPhone 16 series. AI has been an area of ​​focus. over the years as Apple increasingly expanded the capabilities of the neural engine inside its A-series chips. However, as Apple plans to develop new AI-powered iPhone features based on local processing, there will be more significant upgrades.

Apple is usually not the first to market with new product categories. Instead, the company is known for popularizing technologies, such as smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. Let's wait and see what interesting things the company will bring about AI and generative AI.

Marvin Fry

Update 03 April 2024