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Apple has officially entered the AI race, meaning billions of people will now interact with the latest generative technologies through devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.AI is already a vague term, and Apple describes its own Apple Intelligence in even hazier language: A “personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac.” The key word here is “generative,” meaning it can create text, images, and the like. Is Apple Intelligence truly game-changing AI or just another buzzword? The tech won’t debut until this fall alongside its next-gen operating systems, and non-developers can’t get their hands on it until next month. Until then, here are the big questions we have about Apple Intelligence.1. What Gets Moved to Private Cloud Compute?
Apple is hoping to differentiate its AI products by giving the people who use them more peace of mind about how their data is used. User requests for Apple Intelligence features will first go to the on-device chip for local processing. If the request is too sophisticated for the chip, it goes to a new Private Cloud Compute server. Sounds great, but what qualifies as too sophisticated?In its press release, Apple says only “more complex requests that require more processing power” will be shifted to Private Cloud Compute. It didn’t say if people can opt-out of moving requests off-device or be notified when it’s happening. Apple declined to give specifics: “Many of the generative models built into Apple Intelligence run entirely on-device,” it said.
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2. Should You Upgrade to Get Apple Intelligence?You’ll need the latest and greatest devices to get a taste of Apple Intelligence. It will only run on an iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (and presumably the next-gen iPhone 16) due to its processing demands. It’s not as restricted on the iPad and Mac; there you only need a device that has at least an M1 chip (Apple just released an M4 iPad and Macs are up to M3 at this point).But that still puts Apple Intelligence out of reach for those who hold on to pricey Apple devices for years. And it’s probably annoying for someone who recently purchased an iPhone 15 or 15 Plus, thinking Apple’s AI would work on its newest lineup. We’ll have to see if AI-powered writing tools and a ChatGPT integration are worth spending $1,000+ on a new Apple device.Microsoft is taking the same approach with its Copilot+ PCs, which are launching next week with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips. The industry’s message is clear: Entering the AI age will require upgrading your device. 3. Siri’s Breakout Role or Forever Typecast?
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Siri can’t yet handle complex requests, but with Apple Intelligence, the digital assistant is set to get a big upgrade amid growing competition. Conversations with Siri will be more natural and fluid, Apple says. You can also type your questions to Siri across Apple’s OSes versus saying them aloud, turning it into a kind of search-focused chatbot. If chatbots are your thing, you can also ask Siri to direct your questions to ChatGPT through a new partnership with OpenAI. So why use Siri at all if it just asks ChatGPT for the answer? Because Siri can perform unique actions with Apple-owned data on your device. For example, you can ask it to pull up a photo from a recent vacation or summarize something you wrote in the Notes app. Apple says the vision is to integrate Siri with more and more apps over time, making it a more effective assistant. So far it hasn’t been able to pull that off, but we’ll see what Siri has to say this fall.
(Credit: Apple)
With Apple Intelligence, AI-powered Writing Tools will appear “nearly everywhere you write, including third-party apps.” A small icon next to text fields can re-word your draft, making it more clear and concise before sending. You can even change the tone of your emails, making them friendlier or angrier (depending on how much you like your coworkers that week).Not sure what to say? The free version of ChatGPT is baked into the Writing Tools and can generate drafts. Those who subscribe to ChatGPT Plus can log into their accounts for premium features.
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If Apple is successful here, it should take less time to write a high-quality email. But CEO Tim Cook says its AI will likely hallucinate, so these tools could backfire by introducing inaccurate information or misconstruing the intent if people rely too heavily on the AI. Is this the new version of an autocorrect flub?5. Emoji Mayhem Ahead?
Genmojis and Image Playground (Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Emojis are out; Genmojis are in. And texting may start to look a lot different.With Apple Intelligence, you can respond to texts with your own little animations rather than picking from a standard menu. Just type the image you want to create, like a “dinosaur riding a surfboard,” and it generates the image for you to send. “Genmoji opens up entirely new ways to communicate, letting users create a new emoji to match any moment,” Apple says.You can also create images with friends and family in them in the new Image Playground. Apple gives the example of texting your mom that she’s a superhero, and accompanying the message with an image of her in a suit and cape along with it. But to avoid becoming a deepfake factory, Apple is limiting the artwork to three, non-photorealistic styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. What happens if someone on an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max sends a Genmoji to someone on an older phone? Will we return to the days of unsupported emoji showing up as boxes and question marks? It may get messy for awhile.
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