Apple revealed its long-anticipated AI strategy on Monday, unveiling "Apple Intelligence" across its suite of apps, including Siri, and integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices.
During the nearly two-hour presentation at Apple's annual developer conference, CEO Tim Cook and other executives highlighted how Siri will now interact with messages, emails, calendars, and third-party apps. Siri will also be able to write emails and adjust its tone of voice.
Emphasizing user safety, Apple intends to distinguish itself from competitors Microsoft and Google by prioritizing privacy. Despite this, Wall Street reacted coolly, with Apple shares falling nearly 2%, as analysts sought more innovative AI features that would better position Apple against Microsoft.
Apple's stock, which has lagged behind other Big Tech firms this year, had risen 13% in anticipation of the event.
Analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee from Forrester noted that while Apple Intelligence will provide users with incremental improvements, it does not significantly advance the brand beyond its current trajectory. Apple’s strategy contrasts with its rivals' enterprise-focused approaches, aiming to appeal to its more than 1 billion users, many of whom are not tech enthusiasts. Craig Federighi described Apple Intelligence as "AI for the rest of us."
Despite Apple's reliance on iPhone sales, analysts believe the new AI features will not provide immediate financial benefits. Analyst Paolo Pescatore observed that Microsoft and Alphabet appear better positioned in the AI race due to their cloud infrastructure.
The AI features, including those for Siri, will be included in the latest operating system updates demonstrated at the event. The enhanced Siri will now have more control, aided by ChatGPT, and will seek user permission before querying the OpenAI service, highlighting Apple’s focus on privacy.
However, this integration raised privacy concerns, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk threatening to ban Apple devices at his companies if OpenAI’s tech is integrated at the OS level.
Apple assured that the ChatGPT integration, available later this year, would not log user information. A paper released by Apple detailed measures to protect customer data, including using Private Cloud Compute for more complex tasks. Apple also plans to collaborate with other AI companies and has been in discussions with Google.
The new AI features will utilize a combination of on-device processing and cloud computing, available only on the latest iPhones, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple’s approach aims to enhance privacy protections using in-house chips with built-in security features, potentially reducing dependency on Nvidia's expensive chips.
The upcoming iOS 18 will allow greater customization of the iPhone home screen and introduce a "lock an app" feature for protecting sensitive information.
Additionally, Apple will expand availability of its mixed-reality headset Vision Pro to eight more countries, including China and Japan, and the new VisionOS 2 software will offer machine learning-enhanced depth photos and new gestures.