Apple doesn’t do anything by halves. Although the company has hesitated over the introduction of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to its software, this week saw an end to that stance. Apple is not only going all-in with Apple Intelligence (see what they did there?) but it will also integrate other AI services, starting with ChatGPT.
Chief executive Tim Cook was keen to stress that none of this meant Apple was rolling back on its promises to protect user privacy. Apple Intelligence will use a combination of on-device processing, with a private cloud computing system for when the requests need more power than your iPhone can give. The ChatGPT integration will be opt-in, and won’t save your data or require you to set up an account.
“Unsurprisingly, as it enters the AI era Apple is dialling up its security credentials as a core pillar of Apple Intelligence,” said CCS Insight’s Ben Wood.
The focus was all about personal wins, what AI could do to make your life easier rather than a broader overview of generative AI’s capabilities.
The announcement sent stock 2 per cent lower, but industry analysts were more upbeat.
“In stark contrast to rivals, Apple’s approach to AI plays to its strengths. Apple doesn’t need to be the first; it just needs to do it better,” analyst Paolo Pescatore said.
“While it typically takes a more cautious ‘wait and see’ approach, it is interesting to see Apple make such a bold statement with AI still in its infancy.”
The news overshadowed much of the rest of Apple’s updates, including the expansion of the Vision Pro to eight more countries – Ireland is not yet included – and new software updates that bring better gesture controls and new capabilities to the headset.
[ Apple enters the AI arms race with new operating systemOpens in new window ]
Has Apple done enough to quieten the critics though? That’s an open question for now, but it wouldn’t be the first time critics jumped on Apple’s perceived shortcomings only for the tech giant to quickly become the market leader once again.
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