Apple quietly established the 'Answers' team, shifting towards self-developed generative AI, bringing a profound integration revolution to Siri and search experiences. (Background: Apple embraces Bitcoin! iOS game Sarutobi launches on the App Store: players can purchase items and earn Sats using the Lightning Network.) (Context: Is Apple done with AI? Considering skinning ChatGPT or Claude to upgrade Siri, saving its lagging self-development progress.) Apple has always emphasized 'not seeking to be the first, but to be the best.' In the summer of 2025, it finally pressed the AI acceleration button. According to a Bloomberg report on August 3, Apple has secretly formed the 'Answers, Knowledge, and Information' team (abbreviated as AKI), with the goal of creating a 'answer engine' to compete with ChatGPT. This internal project marks Apple's transition from reliance on external technology to comprehensive self-development, laying a new AI foundation for upcoming devices like iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro. From collaboration to self-development: A significant turnaround in Apple's AI strategy. Over the past year, Apple embedded ChatGPT capabilities into Siri through collaboration with OpenAI. However, considering the realities of talent mobility and core technology control, Apple decided to reclaim leadership. The AKI team has opened multiple positions on its official recruitment page, specifically seeking talent skilled in search algorithms and engine development, focusing on 'how to find and present information faster and more accurately to users,' rather than just the superficial glamor of language generation. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently discussed future investment directions, stating: 'The company plans to significantly increase AI investment and personnel to enhance 'Apple Intelligence' capabilities, with an improved AI assistant experience expected to launch as early as early 2026.' This statement echoes AKI's recruitment message and indirectly confirms that 'Answers' will become one of the core infrastructures of Apple's product line. What does 'Answers' look like? A global enhancement from Siri to Spotlight. Sources indicate that AKI's mission is 'to assist users in obtaining world knowledge within the Apple ecosystem.' In other words, the answer engine may not necessarily appear as a standalone app; it is more likely to be deeply integrated into Siri, Safari, Spotlight, Messages, and even the system-level Apple Intelligence. When users ask questions on iPhone or Mac, AI not only needs to understand but also to perform data retrieval instantly on the device or in the cloud, providing concise and trustworthy answers. Leading AKI, Robby Walker and Mike Rockwell have accumulated rich experience in the Siri and Vision Pro projects, respectively, and report to Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea. The team has specifically highlighted 'privacy' and 'integration' as two major focus points in its technical blueprint: algorithms should compute locally as much as possible and only go to the cloud when necessary; the way answers are presented should seamlessly fit into iOS and macOS interfaces, maintaining a consistent user experience. The latecomer's chips: Can latecomer advantages rewrite the market? Facing the first-mover advantages of companies like Google, OpenAI, and Meta in the generative AI landscape, Apple has been slow to act. However, as the world's highest-valued tech giant with both hardware and software in hand, Apple possesses three unique advantages. First, over a billion active devices provide a massive real-time user base for new AI features; second, Apple's self-developed M-series chips and iPhone A-series already have high-performance AI accelerators suitable for edge inference. Finally, its long-standing image of privacy and security encourages users to entrust personalized data to Apple. Once the answer engine matures, the most directly impacted may be Google Search and third-party assistant services. If users can obtain instant, accurate, and traceable information through Spotlight search or Siri Q&A, the motivation to switch to a browser will be weakened, potentially shaking the existing business model of the search market. Key observation points: From 'usable' to 'useful' in the last mile. Looking at the timeline, the AKI project is still in its early stages, and it will take several quarters or even more than a year for full deployment. However, recruitment efforts and organizational structure are already in place, demonstrating Apple's commitment to this project. What remains to be seen is how Apple will enhance inference speed while maintaining local computation on devices, and how it will translate AI capabilities into invisible assistance for daily work and entertainment through interface design. The race in generative AI often emphasizes speed, but for Apple, the key is to find the most suitable balance between hardware, software, and services. When the answer engine is ultimately pushed to global devices with the next software update, the market will be able to truly assess whether 'latecomer' equals 'better.' Apple's choice to sound the drum for self-developed AI at this moment signifies that the company is ready for long-term investment. This new battle about privacy, integration, and intelligence has just begun.

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