Apple Intelligence (AI) Finally Arrives on Apple Products
This year starts a new era for Apple.
Yesterday’s WWDC was probably one of the most notable AI-related events hosted by Apple. Many loyal users had been eagerly awaiting this since the AI boom began. In response, staying true to their tradition, Apple has developed an exclusive environment called Apple Intelligence. This involves updates to several of their well-known tools, aiming to provide users with an enhanced experience on their iPads, iPhones, and Macs.
Despite Apple's previous reluctance to discuss AI as part of their business strategy, they have finally conceded due to the pressure of the AI race.
Let's see whether this event introduced anything genuinely new in terms of AI functionalities or if it is merely another marketing strategy.
Apple Intelligence
Until recently, Apple was reluctant to openly and deliberately use the term AI. Instead, they used terms like neural networks, machine learning, and other similar references. However, they succumbed to pressure while maintaining their naming style. They named their AI initiative Apple Intelligence.
It's important to note that Apple already had AI functions in its devices before all this. For example, when cropping unwanted objects from photos or auto-completing words or phrases on the keyboard.
Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right into Apple devices at the core of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It can be found into apps such as Notes, Keynote, Messages, Siri, and more. They have added diffusion models, generative models, and large language models, all created by Apple and exclusively for Apple. However, they will only be compatible with high-end Apple devices.
As we've seen, Apple Intelligence doesn't have a universal AI application like ChatGPT. Instead, these functionalities are available depending on the task at hand. For instance, when writing on Notes you can summarize your content, rewrite certain parts, change the writing style, or simply correct basic errors.
Additionally, with Cleanup, you can identify background elements in your photos and remove them quickly by selecting or circling them.
Another example is Genmoji, which allows you to generate emojis with the help of AI. You just need to write a prompt, and the diffusion model will create a new emoji from scratch.
Also, Apple announced that it is bringing ChatGPT to Siri and other apps. You won't need a ChatGPT account to access Siri, while ChatGPT Plus subscribers will be able to use premium features within Siri. This ChatGPT integration will be coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS later this year.
AI in Apple Products
Here’s how AI is being incorporated in Apple products (and other announcements)
visionOS 2.0: Bringing images to life
This is an update to the initial version (visionOS 1.0), which is the operating system for Apple Vision Pro. This update includes the following features:
With Apple Vision Pro, we can now use new hand gestures for quick access to our apps. Additionally, we can jump directly to the control center from the same screen, instead of having to look up or at the ceiling.
The update also introduces a new feature for visionOS that allows you to take a 2D photo from your phone and convert it into spatial images with an additional dimension, similar to what Leia can do. This functionality has also been extended to videos.
AirPods: Muted Noise
Apple is incorporating AI into the AirPods to offer a feature called Voice Isolation. If you're in a noisy environment and having a conversation, simply turn on your AirPods. They will isolate your voice and block out all surrounding noise, allowing you to have uninterrupted and clearer calls.
Apple Watch: The New Translator
One of the best AI-related updates for the Apple Watch is its ability to recognize a new location and adapt to the local language. This means it will automatically suggest the translation feature.
If you travel to a place where a different language is spoken, you no longer have to worry about translation. Just ask your Apple Watch questions directly, and it will respond in the local language, allowing you to communicate with people in a different language.
This functionality was already available on iPhones, but now it has been extended to the Apple Watch.
iPadOS 18: The Smart Calculator
One of the most interesting updates presented at WWDC is the calculator. Yes, a calculator. However, it goes beyond what we might intuitively expect.
This feature is called Math Notes. Using the Apple Pencil, you can write equations by hand, and it will respond in your own handwriting. Additionally, if you add new information to the equation, it can quickly recognize it and generate a new answer.
What's remarkable is that it will also recognize variables you include and solve equations involving them. It can also quickly and directly generate mathematical graphs.
Additionally, there’s a recognition of different handwriting styles that is called Smart Script.
Safari
Safari now includes AI to recognize our preferences from the articles we read, highlighting relevant information and displaying it at the top of the screen. Additionally, if we share a specific article, it can create a table of contents with a summary, giving us a quick overview of what we're about to read. It's worth noting that this feature has been extended to YouTube videos to help avoid unwanted ads. In short, an AI assistant.
Security & Privacy
Let's consider what should stay on our devices and what should go to the cloud. This is important because Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT-4o into various applications.
Apple’s AI models are built with strong policies that protect user privacy. However, some tasks might be more complex or beyond the capabilities of Apple's models.
There are two ways to handle this:
One option is to use a larger server-based model built by Apple using Apple Silicon, referred to as cloud computing. In this case, the information is never stored or sent to Apple.
Alternatively, if we request something specific from ChatGPT that involves accessing information on any device (iPhone, iPad, etc.), Apple has carefully ensured that personal data cannot be leaked or used by OpenAI's model.
This version has been designed to be as secure as possible ensuring that users’ data remains protected and uncompromised.
Final Thoughts
After the AI-related announcements made at the WWDC event, it feels like Apple has entered a new era. They recognize the growing importance of AI for users around the world. This is exciting because we'll see how they enhance their devices and applications using AI.
However, I feel that yesterday's announcements didn't fully meet my expectations. It’s good that now we have AI features on Apple devices, but some of these functionalities were already available on ChatGPT and other AI apps. This makes me think that despite Apple's efforts in recent months, they will need to continue pursuing more innovative challenges to stay competitive in the AI race.