Apple's Initial Venture into AI: Introducing Apple Intelligence

Apple Embraces AI with Apple Intelligence

At WWDC, Apple's annual developers conference, the company unveiled its commitment to artificial intelligence through Apple Intelligence—an innovative approach aimed at enhancing its software and upgrading existing applications for greater usability. Apple Intelligence will leverage both its proprietary technology and a partnership with OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT.

Transforming Siri with AI

One of the most significant updates involves Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, which will now utilize large language models (LLMs)—the foundation of contemporary generative AI. This revitalization aims to enhance Siri's interaction with Apple’s operating systems and apps. Users can request a summary of news articles, delete emails, or edit photos. Furthermore, Siri will now be able to perform over 100 actions, including finding photos based on descriptions or extracting information from identification images for form autofill. For added convenience, users can also type queries instead of speaking them.

Smart Browsing and Enhanced Email Features

Apple Intelligence will highlight relevant content in Safari as you browse, and it will help manage notifications more effectively. Similar to features found in Gmail and Outlook, Apple devices will be able to draft comprehensive responses for emails and text messages. Additionally, a new suite called Writing Tools will employ AI to assist with writing, rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text, making it easier to compose emails and blog posts.

Advanced Call Features

Apple Intelligence will also enable call recording, transcription, and summarization—competing directly with services like Otter. Participants will be notified of recordings, and a summary of the conversation's key points will be generated automatically. Users can even create images, stickers, and custom emojis, referred to as Genmoji, using AI in any application.

Powered by GPT-4o

In collaboration with OpenAI, Apple is integrating the latest version of their LLM, GPT-4o, into Siri and Writing Tools. This allows Siri to facilitate user queries to GPT-4o, enhancing text composition. Importantly, Apple promises that unless a paid ChatGPT account is connected, user requests and identifying information, such as IP addresses, will not be stored.

Availability and The Competitive Landscape

Apple Intelligence will initially be in beta, exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models, as well as iPads and Macs with M1 chipsets or higher, and will require the device to be set to US English.

These AI features from Apple are a response to the industry-wide momentum that generative AI has created since OpenAI’s ChatGPT launch in late 2022. Competitors like Google, Samsung, and Microsoft have rushed to embed AI capabilities into their products. Google has announced that AI will be integral to the next Android version, while Samsung has introduced real-time call translation and photo editing features in its smartphones. Microsoft has unveiled AI-powered Copilot PCs, enhancing Windows with functionalities like live captioning and image editing, demonstrating the widespread shift towards AI integration across the tech landscape.