Apple working on billion-dollar plan to get AI in iPhone via iOS, Siri, other apps

Apple's top executives, John Giannandrea, Craig Federighi, and Eddy Cue, are leading a project to enhance the company's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The project has an annual budget of about $1 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is working on multiple fronts to make up for the lost time in the AI ecosystem. Most of the brand's tech peers like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon have made large strides in the AI ecosystem, especially after last year's launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Now, Apple plans to introduce AI not only in its voice assistant, Siri but also within its most popular operating system for iPhones, iOS.  

AI-powered Siri

The report suggests that John Giannandrea is developing the technology for a new AI system and is also working on improving Siri for deeper integration. The improved version of Siri could be ready as early as next year.

AI-powered iOS

Craig Federighi, the Apple executive who oversees the development of iOS for iPhones, and MacOS for MacBooks is also working on integrating AI with the company’s operating systems. His team is working on infusing AI into the next major upgrade of iOS. The report suggests that the focus is on features powered by Apple’s large language model (LLM), internally dubbed AppleGPT. This new model uses vast amounts of data to refine AI capabilities. When incorporated, the AI is expected to improve how Siri and the Messages app interact with users.

AI Integration in Apple Apps

The software engineering teams at Apple are also contemplating the integration of generative AI into development tools like Xcode. This move could accelerate app development, mirroring services like Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot.

Eddy Cue’s team is exploring the incorporation of AI across as many apps as possible. They’re looking into new features for Apple Music, such as auto-generated playlists, and productivity apps. Generative AI is also being considered for apps like Pages or Keynote to assist users in writing or auto-creating slide decks. Additionally, generative AI is being tested for internal customer service apps within AppleCare.

The report suggests that a key discussion within Apple revolves around the deployment of generative AI: on-device, cloud-based, or a hybrid approach. While an on-device approach offers speed and privacy, a cloud-based setup enables more advanced operations.

Also read: Ex-Apple executive Ipsita Dasgupta appointed HP India chief

Also read: No ‘iPhone of AI’: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismisses rumours of an AI-powered device