Key Takeaways:
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will start on Monday, June 10th. This year’s event is one of the most highly anticipated as the tech giant could announce its eagerly-awaited generative AI model.
Apple Intelligence will be Unveiled at the WWDC 2024
According to Bloomberg tech analyst Mark Gurman, Apple is gearing up to reveal a new AI system for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac that will be called Apple Intelligence. Rather than unveil a slew of flashy AI gimmicks, the company is focused more on incorporating the technology into its existing apps to simplify users’ daily usage.
Reports suggest that in addition to providing new “beta” features across Apple’s various platforms and apps, Apple Intelligence will offer users access to a new ChatGPT-like chatbot developed in collaboration with OpenAI.
The attention won’t be on buzzy features like image or video generation, but will instead be on AI summarizations, suggestions, transcribing, and a complete overhaul for Siri that could give the voice assistant more control over the operating system and apps. Siri’s large language model revamp may not arrive until early next year.
There will also be updates to reminders and notifications on Apple’s ecosystem, which will be fine-tuned for AI.
What Will Apple Intelligence Bring to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro?
The Photos app will incorporate Apple Intelligence, bringing advanced photo and video editing features like enhancing images or removing unwanted elements using generative AI. An updated interface is expected for the Control Center and Settings app. Meanwhile, AI-powered text effects will be found in iMessage, along with new Passwords apps, navigation options in Apple Maps, and audio enhancements.
Apple will integrate visionOS with AI to further enhance the Vision Pro mixed reality headset. The generative AI will lean into existing machine vision technologies and augment them with LLM-based contextual understanding and new interface developments.
There will be a new “Reader Mode” on the iPhone that will have the AI read documents to the user and a Live Captions feature that will display real-time captions under videos.
Another snippet that has not picked up much attention is the discovery of Thread radios inside Apple’s latest MacBooks and iPads. While it is not clear why Thread support is included in the device, it is the primary wireless protocol for the unified smart home standard, Matter.
Apple’s AI Can Determine Whether a Task Should be Processed On-Device or in the Cloud
Bloomberg said that Apple will be using its own technology and tools from OpenAI to power the new AI features. The company is expected to utilize an algorithm that can determine whether it can process a particular task on-device or if it will need to send the query to a cloud-based server.
Previously, reports suggested that Apple could use its own M2 chips in data centers with a Secure Enclave to ensure that remote data processing is as secure as it would be on the device. To address any potential security concerns, the company said it won’t be building profiles based on user data and promises to create reports to show that their information isn’t being exploited.
Apple Intelligence Could be a Paid Feature Coming to the Pro Series iPhones and M1 or Later Devices
Bloomberg says that Apple’s upcoming generative AI model will be supported by iPads and Macs powered by an M1 chip or later, while the mobile requirements could be restricted to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max or the iPhone 16 Pro series that is set to launch this fall.
Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring predicts Apple Intelligence will be an opt-in feature with a fee structure that could add around $8 billion to Apple’s service revenues.
The WWDC 2024 runs from the 10th to 14th June. The conference will begin with a keynote speech at 10 am Eastern time (ET), which will be live-streamed on the Apple TV app, Apple Developer app, the official website, and Apple’s YouTube channel.
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