Google and Microsoft have made their developer conferences showcases of their creative AI chips, and now all eyes are on next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, where Apple Intelligence is expected to debut.
The Cupertino-based company is facing a lot of pressure. Apple has lagged behind its peers in the AI race, and it probably feels like it needs to pull out all the stops to impress fans and shareholders. But that shouldn't mean overpromising on features.
First, reliability
Apple makes some of the most popular devices on the planet, and its AI features should work to make them even more useful. Many AI-powered features rely on going back to the cloud to get answers or input back. However, if Apple manages to run some useful features natively on the device, users may ditch the cloud-based tools in favor of the ever-available AI. Offline transcription can fit the bill in Voice Memos and Notes apps.
Apple will likely show summaries of notifications and web pages, basic text generation and photo editing. However, many browsers, note-taking apps, and photo-editing apps already have them. Apple needs to make its implementation as smooth and seamless as possible to make it stand out.
Privacy first
Apple is likely to reinforce its privacy-first approach, so it may not be able to give free rein to Siri or AI-powered features to take control of all apps. According to a Bloomberg report, only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPads or Macs with M1 or later chips will have AI features, and they'll be opt-ins. If that's true, despite being behind the AI feature adoption curve, Apple is still cautious and doesn't want to get caught up in user feedback.
The company was recently criticized for its iPad “Crush” ad, which showed creative devices being destroyed under a hydraulic press. It was seen as Apple's attempt to package creators, their tools, and art into a thin capitalist package. With AI already poorly represented among creators, Apple probably doesn't want to offend them again. So it will likely take a non-controversial approach.
Improving Siri
The biggest change is expected for Apple. Optimize Siri to better understand and deliver user queries more accurate results. Currently, Siri cannot multitask. If you ask Assistant to set a 10-minute timer and a 5-minute timer, it will set one for 15 minutes instead. These things may not require the help of creative AI to solve them, but Siri optimization should at least have them.
If Siri doesn't get as deep into apps as expected, Apple could make users' lives easier by introducing an AI assistant to help users create complex Siri shortcuts to accomplish multi-step tasks. .
Rumors on the street are that Apple will announce a deal with OpenAI to power AI features in its operating systems. It remains to be seen how much of Apple Intelligence will be built on the deal. Apple may not want to get directly involved in content-related AI features just yet, given the problems with AI manipulation.
Many companies make big promises about AI-powered features, only to be disappointed by inaccurate or biased results. Companies like Google and OpenAI have had to walk back AI features due to errors or copyright issues. Thus, the company does not want to depend on LLMs (large language models) for content development.