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Apple (AAPL) held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote on Monday, kicking off the five-day event with the announcement of its iOS 18, Apple Intelligence, an artificial intelligence (AI) partnership with OpenAI, AI-related privacy features, image generation tools, and more. Here are the key takeaways.
Announcing iOS 18
Apple announced iOS 18, its latest operating system, with the update available in the fall as a free software update for iPhone Xs and newer devices.
Apple demonstrated iOS 18’s enhanced capabilities including “more customization options, the biggest redesign ever of the Photos app, new ways for users to manage their inbox in Mail, Messages over satellite,” and other improvements.
Apple Intelligence on iOS 18
Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that is set to be available in beta as part of iOS 18 in the fall on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad, as well as Macs with an M1 chip or later. The intelligence system relies on content on each user’s device as context to provide personalized intelligent assistance.
“Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right at the core” and “draws on your personal content to give you intelligence that’s most helpful and relevant for you,” Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said.
“There are already some really impressive chat tools out there that perform a vast array of tasks using world knowledge, but these tools know very little about you or your needs” Federighi noted, as Apple attempts to set itself apart by creating AI products using personal context on devices to provide a personalized experience to users.
Apple Intelligence can help supercharge Siri, Apple’s personal voice assistant. With the intelligent system, Siri understands more natural speech patterns, uses personal context from on-device content, accepts typed prompts, and has in-app capabilities, Apple said.
OpenAI Partnership Bringing ChatGPT to Apple Devices
Apple revealed that Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI’s ChatGPT will be integrated into iOS 18 later this year. The company said that Apple devices will ask users for permission before sending user data to an OpenAI server.
The Apple and OpenAI partnership will integrate ChatGPT’s capabilities into Apple devices.
Apple said it intends to “add support for other AI models in the future,” which could be good news for companies like Alphabet (GOOGL), given reports that Apple has also been in talks to integrate Google Gemini.
Privacy Considerations for Apple Intelligence Features
The company emphasized that privacy in the AI era is a priority, with “built with privacy at the core” of Apple Intelligence.
“The cornerstone of the personal intelligence system is on-device processing,” Federighi said, explaining that “it’s aware of your personal data without collecting your personal data.”
“This is only possible through our unique integration of hardware and software and our years-long investment in building advanced silicone for on-device intelligence, deeply integrated generative models,” he added.
In instances when users want to run a model that cannot be run locally, Apple has servers dedicated to running user workloads without storing data. Apple announced Private Cloud Compute which allows Apple Intelligence to draw on server-based models while protecting privacy. The company said these requests will “run on servers especially created using Apple silicon.”
The security measures could help reassure users that AI tools are not compromising data privacy.
AI-Powered Image Generation With ‘Genmoji’ and Image Playground
As part of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, users can create new emojis and images through Genmoji and Image Playground.
Apple users can create their own emojis using a text description and then use the emojis the same way they use the Apple defaults.
Image Playground powered by Apple Intelligence allows users to quickly create their own images. The features are built into Apple apps like Messages.
Vision Pro Availability Expands
Apple also announced updates to Vision Pro, including the new VisionOS 2 as well as additional regional availability for the wearable tech.
The Vision Pro will be available for preorder in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore on Thursday, with general availability coming on June 28. The headset will be available for preorder in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on June 28, with general availability in July.
“The enthusiasm for Apple Vision Pro has been extraordinary, and we are thrilled to introduce the magic of spatial computing to more customers around the world,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said.
Apple shares closed 1.9% lower at $193.12 Monday following the company’s conference keynote. The stock has gained about 0.3% so far this year and 5% over the past 12 months.