Apple launches generative AI

It’s been a long time coming but Apple has finally entered the generative AI space, and its stock is booming. The world’s largest tech firm wants to be a part of the revolution and use the technology to improve services for its customers.

Current Apple users know that the firm's existing AI assistant, Siri, isn’t always the sharpest knife in the drawer. While she has natural language processing (NLP), she doesn’t always get instructions right, often finding it hard to understand commands that don’t follow a prescribed structure.

Now, though, Apple says it is building new generative AI technologies into the iPhone 16 based on similar technologies to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The enhancements will enable customers to have more natural conversations with Siri and benefit from everything else large language models (LLMs) can do, like draft emails and write messages.

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence is the proprietary technology at the forefront of this AI revolution from the tech firm. The innovation will make Siri more natural and contextual, turning it into more of a personal assistant (and less of a frustration).

For example, the technology will let the digital assistant pull information from users’ text messages and use it to remind them of upcoming events or recommendations. It can also follow generic voice instructions, like “send the incoming documents to my boss,” without users going through the hassle of uploading and sending them manually.

Alongside this, Apple is introducing a “visual intelligence” feature built around the iPhone 16’s camera. The technology will enable users to point their devices at objects of interest and ask the AI what it is.

This technology could have all sorts of handy use cases. For example, car mechanics could use it to tell them what they are looking at in engines, while tourists could leverage it to provide detailed information about historic sites without a tour guide.

Apple says the consumer benefits are vast. For example, it imagines users pointing their phone cameras at barber shops and tire outlets to see reviews or book a reservation (similar to augmented reality technology).

The beta version of Apple Intelligence will launch in October 2024 in the US in English. International versions in Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and French will become available in 2025.

How Apple’s Generative AI Could Impact The Future Of Technology

Apple believes its Intelligence technology will change the way consumers interact with AIs. While tools like Claude, ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are popular, their usage isn’t ubiquitous among consumers. However, according to commentators like Dan Ives, an analyst at Webush Securities, Apple’s upcoming release could change that. The brand could become the consumer-facing side of the AI revolution, offering LLM-like services that make AI mainstream.

The notion that Siri could become a “digital agent” is perhaps the most exciting aspect of the upcoming Apple iPhone 16 launch. With an agent-based system, Apple’s AIs could develop the ability to make independent decisions for their masters, similar to a personal assistant instead of relying on users to manage and prompt them.

Interestingly, the new visual intelligence feature and Siri’s ability to leverage personal data already hints that this capability is in the pipeline. Users will be able to outsource more cognitive tasks using an Apple Intelligence-infused iPhone 16 than any other handset in history.

Furthermore, Apple’s generative AI revolution goes beyond the iPhone 16. The company is also imbuing the rest of its product line with intelligent tools and software. For example, iPadOs 18, iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia will all feature Apple’s “system wide” Writing Tools. These AI assistants can proofread, rewrite paragraphs, summarise text, and send information between in-built and third-party apps. Onboard AI can also read notifications and arrange them in priority order for users, starting with what’s most important, helping users stay up-to-date with what’s relevant.

Fun stuff is also being added. For instance, Apple is introducing Genmoji – a tool that lets users generate emojis to fit a specific situation. Users can share these in-line in the rest of their messages and create avatars of friends and family for more personalised creations.

Hearing Aid AirPods

However, Apple’s generative AI push goes beyond its flagship operating systems. It is also bleeding into everything else the company does.

One flashpoint is the brand’s AirPods – wireless headphones. According to press announcements, the next generation will feature enhanced noise cancellation powered by machine learning.

Even more astonishingly, the AirPods 4 will become a hearing aid (of sorts). People can use them to test their ears to detect hearing loss and then use units as a sound-booster for a “clinical-grade” hearing augmentation experience, the company says.

Unlike previous generations of AirPods that linked to phones only, AirPods 4 will feature a microphone for collecting sound information from their surroundings. Onboard microchips will then process this information and feed it into the speaker for enhanced volume and output.

Apple Watch 10

Lastly, Apple will include AI technologies in its new Apple Watch 10, which has already seen a host of upgrades, including a more comfortable chassis, a better display and more water depth functions than previous models.

Apple wants this iteration of its Smart Watch to assist people with sleep apnea, a sleeping condition where breathing stops because of blocked airways. The device, the Cupertino-based company says, can deter sleeping abnormalities, allowing users to track their breathing overnight to detect the condition (to later seek treatment). Intelligent AI systems watch for patterns associated with the disease and create reports on their findings.

Wrapping Up

Just like the best chat software for business, Apple’s new generative AI push will have a significant impact on the future of technology. As the world’s largest company, it’s hard to imagine anything stopping it. Consumers will finally get to benefit from real-world applications of AI technology in their daily lives, driving demand for more agentic digital personal assistants.