Apples AI Rollout Could Extend Beyond Fall, Much-Anticipated Preview in the Offing
Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new artificial intelligence offerings, unveiled last week, are set to roll out gradually, with some features not expected until 2025.
What Happened
In his latest weekly "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman said that the Apple Intelligence service will be available for developers later this summer, but it won't be part of the initial beta releases of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. The software will launch as a preview in the fall, working only on a subset of Apple's devices and only in American English.
The initial version of Apple Intelligence will be packed with features, including AI to prioritize notifications, summarize webpages, voice memos, meeting notes, and emails, new writing tools, image generation, and custom AI-spawned emoji called Genmoji.
"The keynote presentation at last week's Worldwide Developers Conference also didn't reflect the exact features that will be arriving in the fall. Instead, Apple essentially gave a road map of what's coming in late 2024 and the first half of 2025," Gurman said.
However, many of the AI features won't be ready in time for the new version of iOS, which typically releases publicly in September, said Gurman. Employees involved in Apple Intelligence's development have indicated that a subset of the service won't launch until next year.
Major enhancements to Apple's digital assistant, Siri, including the ability to find things on your devices based on context and take action, semantic indexing, precise control of your device and applications, and on-screen awareness, are likely not coming until 2025.
Apple Intelligence's support for additional languages and regions, as well as the much-discussed integration with ChatGPT, also won't arrive until 2025.
Why It Matters
Not all iPhone users will be able to access the new AI features, as they require the A17 Pro chip. Currently, the A17 Pro chip is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, whereas the more affordable iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus continue to use the older A16 Bionic chip.
Moreover, the AI initiative will initially appear to be limited to iPhone, iPad, and Mac models equipped with the M1 chip or later, excluding Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro users at launch.
It was previously reported that Apple is looking to establish more chatbot partnerships, with potential partners including Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Anthropic in the U.S., and Baidu Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in China.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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