Apple rolled out details for its generative artificial intelligence initiatives—known as “Apple Intelligence”—for the first time Monday, laying out what could be the next big reason for iPhone users to upgrade their devices.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (left) and Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi ... [+]
CEO Tim Cook said “it's personal intelligence, and it's the next big step for Apple.”
Among the generative AI features coming to iPhones at an unspecified date will be image generation, notification summaries and automated messages, according to Cook, who heavily emphasized privacy.
Cook teased the “profound new intelligence capabilities” at the start of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference held at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., but the first hour mostly focused on more mundane product updates.
The company also laid out several other changes for its iOS 18 operating system slated for later this year, including scheduled iMessages, Emoji message reactions and satellite SMS messaging designed for texts when users have no cell tower service.
Apple’s stock did not react sharply to the rollout, trading at $195, within 1% of its share price just before the WWDC keynote event began at 1 p.m.
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Media and Wall Street analyst reports alike predicted Apple would use its Monday platform to showcase its AI strategy. Generative AI, which involves machine learning algorithms which spit out information based on human prompts, entered the public eye beginning in late 2022, when OpenAI released its ChatGPT chatbot. Public perception largely placed Apple as a laggard in the AI arms race compared to rivals Google and Microsoft, reflected in the companies’ recent performance in the stock market. Shares of Apple are only up 40% over the last two years, compared to Microsoft stock’s 70% gain and Google parent Alphabet’s 60% rally.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Apple Could Preview An AI IPhone Today: Here’s What Wall Street Expects (Forbes)
How Apple Fell Behind in the AI Arms Race (Wall Street Journal)