In the latest edition of his weekly newsletter Power On, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said, “the technology may be integrated tightly enough that people won’t even notice they’re using them”. Apple’s approach is to aim the features at its wide user base.
“The idea is to appeal to a user’s practical side — and leave some of the more whiz-bang features to other companies,” Gurman added saying that this — much like most iOS features lately — is purely catch-up to what other major consumer tech companies like Google and Samsung have been doing for quite some time.
So, what can iOS users expect from the WWDC announcement?
According to Gurman, Apple plans to integrate AI into essential apps such as Safari, Photos, and Notes as a part of a strategy dubbed “Project Greymatter”. Users can also expect to see enhanced notifications.
Other new AI capabilities include transcribing voice memos, retouching photos, and enhancing search functionalities in Spotlight, making them faster and more reliable. Safari will also benefit from improved web search functionalities, and the system will suggest automatic replies for emails and text messages.
The Siri personal assistant is also slated for a substantial upgrade. Leveraging Apple’s proprietary large language models, Siri will offer more natural-sounding interactions. Additionally, a more advanced Siri designed for on-the-go tasks will debut on the Apple Watch.
Developers won’t be left out, as AI enhancements are also coming to Xcode, providing new tools and capabilities to innovate further within Apple’s ecosystem.
One of the standout features set to debut in iOS 18 is generative AI for emojis. Users will be able to create custom emojis in real time based on their conversations, significantly expanding beyond the existing emoji catalogue.
In a non-AI-related but equally exciting update, the iPhone home screen will get a major overhaul. Users will have the ability to customise app icon colours and place them anywhere on the screen, breaking away from the traditional grid layout that has been a staple since the iPhone’s inception in 2007.
Only long-time iPhone users will know the significance of this update — probably the biggest since Apple let you add widgets to the home screen.
Another major component of Apple’s AI enhancements is the introduction of smart recaps. This technology will summarise missed notifications, text messages, web pages, news articles, documents, and other media, offering a comprehensive overview for users who need to catch up quickly.
There seems to be no indication of an AI chatbot in Apple’s plan as of now, laying low from the hot market led by ChatGPT with its launch in late 2022.
Privacy concerns
A significant portion of Apple’s presentation at WWDC will focus on these AI-driven innovations, highlighting how iOS 18 and macOS 15 will leverage both on-device and cloud-based processing.
Gurman added that Apple’s latest hardware, including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac models released in the last year, will handle most AI tasks locally. For more intensive computing needs, tasks will be offloaded to the cloud, powered by M2 Ultra chips in Apple’s data centres.
However, with these advancements, Apple faces the challenge of maintaining its strong stance on privacy. The company has long promoted the benefits of on-device processing to protect user data. To address concerns about cloud-based AI features, Apple is expected to highlight that it does not build customer profiles and will rely on the security features of the M-series chips used in its data centres.
While Apple’s strategy to focus on its present consumers could very well for the company, it still has to convince them — and its investors — that it is doing exciting things in the sector. If anyone can put new wine in old bottles and get away with it, we know it’s Apple.
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