Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the company is working on bringing users generative AI software features, which he expects to come later this year.
Cook was cagey about further details, which is unsurprising considering Apple’s habit of keeping future features and updates close to the chest until they’re ready to ship (Unless it’s something like the shelved AirPower charging mat, of course).
“Our M.O., if you will, has always been to to do work and then talk about work, and not to get out in front of ourselves,” The Verge reported Cook as saying when pressed for details. “And so we’re going to hold that to this as well. But we have got some things that we’re incredibly excited about, that we’ll be talking about later this year.”
The announcement came during Apple’s quarterly earnings call Thursday, so the news attracted questions from those attending. Still, it seems Cook kept to his prepared lines.
Even so, the snippet of information lines up with a Bloomberg report from earlier this week that predicted significant updates to come with iOS 18, which The Verge also pointed out.
As expected as Cook’s lack of willingness to share details is, it still leaves many questions. Generative AI can encompass many things and considering the slate of Apple products, it could be used just about anywhere. Apple has previously updated its photo editing capabilities, for example. Most recently, it enhanced how users can make “stickers,” pulling out a piece of a photo to use elsewhere. Generative AI could also come into play when it comes to a Chat-GPT-like service. Better autocorrection was another area Apple sought to improve in its latest release as well. Further, Apple has a lengthy history with music.
All of these areas could see new generative AI updates, leaving Apple with multiple opportunities to utilize the growing technology. It’s also giving itself quite a bit of time to work on such updates. Some Android offerings, powered by Google’s AI investments, already sport generative AI features.
But Apple’s repeated commitments to privacy could slow things down. After all, the data AI models learn from continues to be a contentious point in the conversation. It’ll be interesting to see how Apple navigates such concerns. It may go for an Adobe-like approach, which relied on select work it had access to rather than scrubbing the internet for data.
These questions, at earliest, likely won’t be answered until WWDC, Apple’s developer conference, which takes place in the late spring. Until then, maybe ask Chat-GPT for predictions.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.