At Apple's global developer conference (WWDC) in 2024, the company unveiled its AI strategy, naming it 'Apple Intelligence'. This is a promising vision that has sparked many expectations.
Further Reading
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However, since its launch, Apple has faced criticism over the past year, with claims that its AI strategy promises too much but delivers too little. Apple's AI strategy has been criticized for entering the field late, having limited cloud service capabilities, and overemphasizing on-device processing.
Critics argue that Apple is lagging behind companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft in foundational AI research and large language model (LLM) development. Apple did not build a robust AI platform early on, focusing instead on privacy and hardware, resulting in its reliance on partners, such as integrating ChatGPT into Siri.
Skeptics also point out that Apple insists on primarily running AI models on-device. While this method protects privacy and increases speed, it limits the scale and complexity of AI capabilities compared to cloud-based systems. Some developers and analysts believe this restricts Apple's ability to deliver truly transformative AI experiences.
At the global developer conference (WWDC) in early June this year, Apple publicly acknowledged that many of the features promised for Apple Intelligence's release in 2024 have been delayed. Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, stated: 'We will continue to work to make Siri more personalized. This work takes more time to meet our high-quality standards, and we look forward to sharing more information next year.'
OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and major manufacturers all have their own LLM engines. But Apple needs to collaborate with third parties and use their technology to integrate AI into its operating systems and applications. In this case, Apple collaborates with OpenAI and ChatGPT to add AI functionalities to macOS and iOS. This plan was initially announced as an ambitious one. Google has its own Gemini LLM, meaning they can finely integrate AI into the Android system from the ground up. This gives Android an edge in integrating AI into mobile operating systems.
While this may be a better approach, Apple has done something quite interesting. At least in the short term, they are empowering their applications with AI. Apple has integrated Apple Intelligence into several of its applications. Here are some key examples:
Photos:
Cleanup Tool: This tool uses generative AI to remove unwanted objects or people from photos.
Memory: Apple Intelligence can help users turn photos and videos into movies based on their descriptions.
Natural Language Search: Users can search for photos and videos simply by describing what they're looking for.
Mail:
Priority Email: The mail application can categorize received emails based on content and set a 'Primary' category for important emails.
Smart Reply: The AI smart reply feature helps users respond to emails quickly and efficiently.
Email Summaries: Apple Intelligence can provide summaries of emails and information conversations.
Information and FaceTime:
Instant Translation: Can automatically translate information in real-time.
Reduce Distractions, Focus Mode: This focus mode utilizes AI to minimize distractions.
Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing: These features in focus mode help users filter notifications for more effective management.
Notes:
Image Wand: This feature in the Apple Pencil tool panel allows users to convert hand-drawn images into images and create images based on text.
Shortcuts:
Smart Operations: Apple Intelligence has enabled a set of new smart operations in shortcuts, allowing users to perform tasks like text summarization or image generation using AI models in their workflows.
Siri:
Enhanced Features: With the integration of Apple Intelligence, Siri has become more powerful and intelligent. It can now handle more complex queries, understand more text, and has a brand new look and experience.
ChatGPT Integration: Siri can access ChatGPT to respond to more complex tasks or questions.
Apple also allows other applications to utilize the built-in AI models of the Apple Intelligence core. Rapid responses to AI in its applications are crucial for Apple, but given that AI's data coverage is global, some criticize that it limits the scale and complexity of AI capabilities compared to cloud systems, which is a reasonable criticism.
This has led some analysts and media to believe that Apple needs to acquire a ready-made LLM company to help cope with the global expansion of AI. While this is an interesting idea, it seems unlikely to materialize. Apple is becoming increasingly adept at leveraging existing LLM partnerships and this strategy. In the process, Apple is developing its own LLM to gain the necessary control to protect customer data privacy and provide the kind of privacy protection that Apple products excel at.
Ed Handy conducted an in-depth analysis of Apple's AI strategy in (Cult of Mac), believing that Apple's slow rollout is not a crisis. He stated: 'Apple is not leading in the AI industry, and most users won't notice that AI is the hot technology of the 2020s. Apple is far behind in the development of this industry. OpenAI's ChatGPT makes Apple's Siri look like a high school science project. Images generated by Google Gemini make those from Apple Image Playground seem ridiculous. Apple originally planned to launch an enhanced Siri a year later, but now it seems that plan will be delayed. However, none of this really matters. It truly doesn't matter.'
Let's take a look at Google's Android operating system to see the reasons behind it. Android leads in integrating AI features compared to the iPhone, but this hasn't made users more satisfied. The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index survey shows that Samsung users' satisfaction with Android smartphones decreased by 1% compared to a year ago. Satisfaction with Google and Motorola Android phones also dropped by 3%. However, the survey also found that iPhone users' satisfaction decreased by 1% as well. This means that flashy new AI features, or the lack of them, have no impact on the average user's perception of their phones.
As someone who has followed Apple for over 40 years, I can attest that Apple has always moved at its own pace. Moreover, the way they launched Apple Intelligence will not be influenced by external criticism. Apple has historically excelled at creating new products and services. While some criticisms have some merit, Apple's approach to integrating AI into its applications remains a robust strategy, with plenty of room for innovation in the future.
This article is published with permission from: (PANews)
Original Title: (Apple’s AI Approach: Innovation, Criticism, And The Road Ahead)
Original Author: Tim Bajarin, Forbes
Translation: Felix, PANews
'Where's the promised Apple AI? Apple: I'm moving at my own pace, how much slower can I go?' This article was originally published on 'Cryptic City'