Incorporating AI into Apple Products
In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman discusses Apple’s efforts to catch up with the rise of generative AI tools. Apple SVPs Craig Federighi, John Giannandrea, and Eddy Cue are leading the charge in integrating AI-powered functionality into Apple’s products and services.
iOS 18 is set to introduce new AI features, such as smarter reply suggestions in Messages. Cue is advocating for features like AI-generated playlists in Apple Music, while exploring the use of generative AI in Apple’s productivity apps like Pages and Keynote. Giannandrea’s team is working on a more intelligent version of Siri for a debut next year.
Embracing AI Innovation
Apple aims to incorporate AI into end-user features to compete with rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. The company plans to invest around $1 billion annually in AI research and product development.
Besides iOS 18 and Siri enhancements, Apple is also considering AI-enhanced features in Xcode to improve the developer experience. This may include advanced code completion similar to Github Copilot. Additionally, Apple is exploring ways to enhance its internal AppleCare tools with AI.
Privacy vs. Performance
Internal discussions at Apple revolve around whether to base AI features on on-device neural network models or utilize Apple’s cloud services. On-device processing prioritizes privacy, while cloud-based models offer more advanced capabilities. Apple is likely to take a case-by-case approach, with some features running on-device and others using a cloud backend.
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