Apple announced its highly anticipated artificial intelligence initiative called Apple Intelligence at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday (10th June 2024). This new intelligence will be deployed in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia with deep integration of OpenAI ChatGPT technology into these platforms.
With competitors like Samsung, Google, and Microsoft already incorporating the technology into their flagship products, everyone is eager to see what Apple does. At WWDC 2024, Apple finally announced its plans.
Understanding a person’s context when providing feedback and taking action is a key part of Apple’s Intelligence approach. Apple uses this to differentiate its AI from its competitors. For example, Apple Intelligence may consider information such as traffic, your schedule, and people to help you determine whether you can respond to a situation on time.
Most AI models run directly on the device; This is considered more private because your data does not need to be sent over the network. For tasks that require more power, Apple uses a system called private cloud computing. The system runs on dedicated servers with Apple Silicon, and Apple Intelligence determines if the job can be done on the device or if it needs the cloud. and get the latest updates.
Siri Upgrades
- You can talk to Siri all day long and it will understand you even if you mix up what you say. It understands context so that you can ask questions later. If you want, you can write your question to Siri.
- Siri is evolving to help you use your iPhone by answering questions about specific features. Updates will be coming next year. Siri will get screen recognition, which will allow it to track the content of the screen.
For example, when you get a person’s address via text message, it can be added to their contact card, similar to the updated version of Gemini that Google announced last month.
- The ability to perform tasks like sharing photos with you within the app and using personal history to help you complete tasks.
For example, if you ask a loved one when their flight will land, Siri can look up flight information shared with you via text or email. Siri can also communicate different things like your lunch plans, so you can ask how long it will take to get from the airport to a restaurant without switching between apps.
Image Generation and Productivity
- Many of Apple Intelligence’s new features are designed to increase productivity, similar to tools from Google and Microsoft.
For example, Apple Intelligence can help you rewrite emails in different and important formats and write important notifications. There are also proofing tools for checking grammar and spelling.
The “writing tools” will be available in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia and can be used in Text, Mail, Pages, and even third-party apps.
- Just like Microsoft and Google, Apple uses artificial intelligence to organize your email inbox. A new feature called Priority Messages will show urgent emails like navigation and give a summary of emails without having to open each message.
- For notifications, important notifications will appear at the top and you will get a quick summary of important notifications on the side.
- As expected, you can now create custom emojis instantly using a new tool called Genmoji. This allows you to create text-based emojis and even create emojis using photos of your friends or family.
- Apple also created an image generator called Image Playground. You can choose the theme, equipment, location, and more for your playground. If you have specific ideas, you can enter them for inclusion. There are three styles for image generation: sketch, illustration, and animation. Image Playground understands your background and makes suggestions. It can be used as a single application or integrated into applications such as Word. All images are created by your device.
- The Notes app uses a new tool called Image Wand. This allows you to create a circle of images in your text and use Image Park to turn it into a real image. You can also record, save, and save audio in the Notes app.
- Apple Intelligence can do things for you, like retrieve data from the past week or play a podcast a friend sent you.
- The Photos app also has an advanced search feature that lets you use natural language to find specific photos based on a general description, like “Maya skateboarding in a tie-dye shirt.” There’s also a new removal tool that can remove objects from the background image, similar to features from Google and Samsung.
- One of the features is the ability to create stories in the Photos app by entering a description.
ChatGPT Integration
- Apple is working with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia.
For example, when used, Siri can use ChatGPT’s intelligence to answer specific questions. If you want to know which plants would be good for your deck, you can take a photo and Siri can respond using ChatGPT.
More importantly, Apple asks for your permission before responding using ChatGPT.
Apple's announcement follows moves by Samsung, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI. In January, Samsung announced Galaxy AI for Galaxy phones, starting with the Galaxy S24 series. Galaxy AI includes tools to instantly translate phone calls, remove and replace objects in photos, and preview videos in slow motion.
In early 2024, Google announced Circle for Search for Android phones, allowing users to start searching Google by circling or drawing a topic on the screen. At I/O last month, Google showed off how Gemini Assistant can better understand your apps. Microsoft also announced an AI-powered productivity tool to collect content from emails and manage computers.
Apple announced new software for all its major platforms at WWDC, including new versions of iOS, MacOS, WatchOS, and iPadOS. Apple usually releases new iPhone and Apple Watch models in September.