Apple delaying key AI features ahead of Glowtime event

Ahead of its highly anticipated 'Glowtime' event, Apple is pumping the brakes on some of its key artificial intelligence features, according to a new report.

As per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the decision was made recently, highlighting that Apple's AI push "will take time to pay off". Gurman notes that "Apple Intelligence is still not fully baked", with major features like ChatGPT's integration "missing".

Further, Apple Intelligence features won't be available in the EU, Gurman says, with countries such as Italy, France, Spain, Sweden and Germany missing out on the integration. What's more, another overseas market will miss out on Apple AI: China.

However, despite these exclusions, Gurman argues that many everyday consumers won't necessarily understand the need for AI. "Though AI is an exciting new field for technology fans, the vast majority of consumers aren’t well-versed in it," he says.

"Many of them won’t understand why they would even need Apple Intelligence, and it will take the company several months to explain the benefits of the technology. Even if everything goes smoothly, the Apple Intelligence introduction will be slow and staggered."

Gurman claims that the latest flagship phones will not ship with such capabilities when they debut later this month, and consumers will only be able to access the features after the iOS 18.1 software update rolls out in October.

These features include summarizing notifications and web content, tools to improve writing, and a way to remove people or objects from images. Users will also get automated transcriptions of their phone calls, and the software will prioritize important emails within the Apple Mail app.

Notably, Apple has also decided to delay its new image-generation features to iOS 18.2, rather than iOS 18.1, which is scheduled for release in December. This includes the Image Playground app and the Genmoji capability, which uses AI to make emojis based on user-inputted text.

According to Gurman, this spread-out approach could mean that it’s "unlikely for the AI platform to be compelling enough to drive serious upgrades this year" and that the company will likely be in a stronger position next year, just in time for the iPhone 17 release.

Speculated iPhone 16 release date

While we have yet to receive confirmation as to when the iPhone 16 models will be available to purchase, we can make an educated guess based on previous years. Apple is a creature of habit when it comes to release dates, with preorders typically available the Friday after new devices are announced.

This year, that date falls on the somewhat superstitious, Friday, September 13. We can also anticipate the full release to take place a week later on Friday, September 20.

That said, we will have confirmation of these release dates in the coming hours, as the Apple Glowtime event is set to take place at Apple Park in Cupertino, kicking off at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 6 pm BST on Monday, September 9 or 3 am AEST, Tuesday, September 10.

Much like previous events, you can livestream the Apple Glowtime event on YouTube, Apple.com and Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro users will also be able to watch in their headsets. You can check out how to watch the Glowtime event livestream here.