Apple is working to add AI to its operating systems, one of the worst-kept secrets in the company's history. Recently, a report came out that Apple is almost certainly working with OpenAI to bring its AI goals to fruition. A new wrinkle has emerged in the Apple AI saga — the company apparently intends to call its AI feature "Apple Intelligence," or AI for short, which is a fittingly Apple way to name it.
The report on Apple's AI name comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, so we're confident in its validity. According to people familiar with Apple's plans, the AI features will be available in new versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems, so it's not just iPhones that will enjoy Apple's version of AI.
Gurman said that Apple will use a mix of its own technology and OpenAI's work to bring Apple Intelligence to its devices. A partnership with the AI firm would also bring a ChatGPT-like chatbot to Apple's devices. Apparently, the AI features will take up about half of Apple's WWDC keynote, so we can expect plenty of artificial intelligence at the event.
As far as what kind of features to expect, we could see Siri able to control apps more directly. Siri could even summarize an article, edit a photo in a requested way or delete an email, which sounds like quite a time-saver. You'll be able to use the AI to summarize meeting notes, text messages and emails. It'll even be able to create fully fleshed-out responses to emails and text messages, which is a lot more than the canned answers currently available in iMessage.
Basically, if there's somewhere Apple can implement AI, it probably will. "Apple's approach to AI will involve integrating the technology into as many of its apps as possible, in ways that ideally ease the daily lives of customers," reads Gurman's report. He noted that Apple is less interested in image and video generation than most companies, though.
As previously reported, Apple plans to make its AI capabilities opt-in, which means they won't be turned on by default. For AI opponents, this is a good thing, but it means that some more casual Apple device owners might not even know the new features are available.
The report also confirms that Apple will require an iPhone 15 Pro or one of the models coming out in 2024 to take advantage of Apple Intelligence. This isn't surprising, as the on-device processing requirements for AI are significant, but as an iPhone 14 Pro Max owner, I can't say I'm not a little disappointed.
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Dave LeClair is the Senior News Editor for Tom's Guide, keeping his finger on the pulse of all things technology. He loves taking the complicated happenings in the tech world and explaining why they matter. Whether Apple is announcing the next big thing in the mobile space or a small startup advancing generative AI, Dave will apply his experience to help you figure out what's happening and why it's relevant to your life.
