Right now, one of the biggest topics in the tech sector is artificial intelligence (AI). Nearly all of the major tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Meta, are focusing on incorporating new AI features into their product lines, which includes smartphones. With a focus on AI-powered features, Google debuted its Pixel 8 series last year, and Samsung unveiled AI improvements for its Galaxy S24 lineup this year. However, Apple appears to be lagging a little bit behind despite all the talk about AI.
The massive Cupertino tech company introduced the iPhone 15 series last year with significant enhancements, but it made no special announcements about AI. Yet Apple’s AI adventure is not too far off. According to reports, the company is getting ready to reveal a big leap in AI with the upcoming iOS 18 update. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg claims that Apple plans to unveil the iOS 18 update during WWDC in June 2024. This time, the update will be more substantial and include a tonne of new AI-focused features for iPhones. “According to what I’ve been told, the new operating system is regarded by the business as one of the largest iOS updates—if not the largest—in its existence.” Gurman stated.
Gurman disclosed in his most recent Power On newsletter that iOS 18 will bring the iPhone a much-needed redesign that will “satisfy many longstanding requests from users, developers, and regulators.”
The most significant enhancement will be the increased use of generative AI, which will give Siri more intelligence and capability. It has previously been suggested that Apple may be using a Large Language Model for Siri, which would enable it to perform more complex tasks.
That’s not all, though. According to Gurman, the iPhone will get “a lot more” with iOS 18. According to his report, Apple’s chief software engineer Craig Federighi informed his staff last year that the operating system, codenamed Crystal, will feature significant changes throughout.
According to reports, the following are some of the major updates coming with the new iOS 18:
- An enhanced intelligent version of Siri that makes use of a novel AI system with extensive language model technology
- The Messages app has AI capabilities that allow it to “answer questions and complete sentences”.
- Apple Music AI features that enable the creation of “automatically generated playlists”
- Generative AI capabilities for Pages and Keynote in iWork apps
- Features for Xcode’s generative AI that enable programmers to “write new applications faster”
Notably, even though Apple hasn’t made an official announcement just yet, we’ll probably only get a peek of iOS 18’s full capabilities, including its non-AI features, during WWDC. This is predicated on prior releases’ inclination to remain quiet until launch. But it’s evident from recent reports and analyses that Apple has much more in store than just the AI innovations that have been made public.