Before the Apple conference WWDC
“It's going to be a big deal” – Is Cook opening the iPhone to AI?
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At its developer conference, Apple traditionally gives a preview of the upcoming features of its devices. This year, it is not surprising that experts expect AI to be the big thing. It is unclear which model of the blockbuster iPhone will include the technology.
Apple is expected to make a foray into artificial intelligence at the WWDC developer conference this evening (from 7 p.m. CEST). According to media reports, in addition to functions developed in-house, technology from ChatGPT inventor OpenAI will also be used. The innovations could include the ability to have AI create new emojis when typing a text, wrote the financial service Bloomberg. “It's going to be a big deal,” said CEO Tim Cook yesterday at a meeting with young programmers about the WWDC plans.
At the company's own WWDC conference at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, the iPhone company traditionally gives an outlook on software and functions that will be introduced with new device generations starting in the fall. This time, it is certain that artificial intelligence will play a central role. According to Bloomberg, there will be an AI function that can summarize the content of missed messages or emails. This would be useful, for example, if you haven't looked at your smartphone for a while. The iPhone will also be able to pre-formulate answers for users, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Apple's voice assistant Siri, which now seems rather simple compared to chatbots like ChatGPT, will also take on more tasks than before thanks to AI, Bloomberg wrote. For example, you will be able to delete emails and edit photos using voice commands.
In recent weeks, Google and Microsoft have also placed particular emphasis on focusing on AI functions at their developer conferences. Microsoft has already secured extensive access to OpenAI technology through a multi-billion dollar pact. Google is partially supplementing search results in the US with AI summaries – but the software initially produced a few mistakes, such as the recommendation to eat a small stone a day. Apple has so far largely limited the use of AI in its devices to individual functions such as improving photos and videos.
An important question will be from which iPhone generation the individual AI functions will be usable. According to Bloomberg, many of these will require one of this year's models or at least an iPhone 15 Pro from 2023. If the AI innovations prove popular, this could trigger accelerated upgrades by customers to new devices. The iPhone is by far Apple's most important product. It brings in more than half of the company's revenue – and also drives the app and subscription business.
