Subj : Will Apple go big on AI at WWDC 2024? Almost certainly but it c To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Fri Jun 07 2024 06:15:05 Will Apple go big on AI at WWDC 2024? Almost certainly but it could think different Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2024 05:00:03 +0000 Description: Apple is tipped to focus on AI at WWDC 2024, but it'll likely focus on tightly integrated and consumer-centric smart tools. FULL STORY ====================================================================== You cant swing a metaphorical cat in a virtual room without some tech-savvy person harping on about AI. And over the past year and a bit, AI interest has exploded thanks to the rise of generative AI; for the uninitiated, thats smart algorithms and modes that can basically create things from various commands and inputs rather than acting as a smart assistant. As such, we saw the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro go hard on generative AI, specifically with its Magic Editor and smart features that can pretty much handle calls for you. Samsung then did the same with the Galaxy S24 series, on which the rather snazzy Circle to Search AI feature made its debut. Google I/O was a feast of AI announcements and forward-thinking, with Gemini AI in the limelight. So that leads me to think, what will Apple do with AI and generative AI at WWDC 2024 ? The crew at Cupertino will surely talk about AI, given weve seen it crop up with the launch of the new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models both with the M4 chip that has been designed for running AI workloads. But will it also go deep into generative AI in the same vein as Google? Thats a trickier question to answer not that I can answer it, as Apple is super tight-lipped about nearly everything, so this is all educated speculation. However, Id place a hefty bet that Apple will indeed go big on AI, but itll do it in a slightly different way to its rival; itll think different if youll allow the wry joke. Seamless and consumer focussed (Image credit: Future /ChatGPT) While Apples Worldwide Developers Conference is, as its name suggests, a developer-centric showcase, its also distinctly consumer-tinged. All the announcements ultimately have Apples end users in mind, which means the likes of you and I, and creative types who use MacBooks at fancy coffee shops. By that, I mean generative AI tools will be neatly integrated into Apples platforms. Im thinking agendas automatically developed and popped into your iPhones notifications as AI tech peruses your calendar and emails with your permission of course. Slick auto editing for videos and photos that transform mediocre shots into something more presentable at the tap of a button, or even serving up suggestions in real time. Clever fitness features that can customize workout and diet plans for you via data sucked from your iPhone and Apple Watch sensors. Smartly turned playlists created on the fly in Apple Music via a simple directive of make me a playlist for a summer party. Auto-generated summaries of meetings, calls, presentations, or even the latest Apple TV Plus show. And smarter searching, web page summaries, and information surfacing in Safari and across iOS 18 and macOS. Furthermore, we can expect a big AI upgrade for Siri . Not only has that been rumored with the idea that Apples virtual assistant could tap into the likes of ChatGPT , but Siri is arguably the dunce of the virtual assistants when compared to Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, so its well overdue a dose of new smarts. The overall idea here is that Apple will surely make generative AI tools feel more like part of the experience of using an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, or Apple Watch rather than having features that you have to actively search for or enable, something thats arguably the case with the aforementioned Pixel and Galaxy phones. And I feel thats the key to getting the general public interested in actually using AI in a holistic way . Itll be all about making it feel natural and useful rather than a nice to have or an oh thats cool feature that one only uses once. I think this in the context of the iPhone 15 Pro s Action button at first, it seemed a tad pointless given its limited scope, but once I set it up to trigger the flashlight function in iOS, it just became something I use without thinking. Apples ability to make new features that might seem a tad meh suddenly useful and frictionless to use is something many other tech brands could keep learning from. Going alone or partnering up? (Image credit: Shutterstock) The other question about Apple and AI at WWDC 2024 is whether Apple will use in-house AI models or partner with external generative AI developers. Apple is no stranger to AI, as machine-learning tech has been used for multiple generations of iPhone to help deliver the best phone photos. But the best generative AI tech will surely need multimodal models whereby data can be harvested from multiple sources and sensors and then processed together which could see Apple step outside its walled garden and look for help. Such help has been tipped to come from OpenAI and its ChatGPT models , though there was also some murmurings Apple could turn to Googles Gemini AI . Its standard practice to see Apple as the company that does its own thing. But I can see it joining forces with one of the big AI players to tap into trained AI models while it provides the customer experience and hardware that's so appealing to millions of people worldwide. Ultimately, this is all pondering on my part based on nearly a decade of working in technology journalism, so I could be completely wrong about how Apple approaches AI and the thrust of WWDC this year. But Im confident in my predictions and reckon this will be a conference to watch. Speaking of which, if you want to watch the keynote live, check out our guide on how to watch WWDC 2024 . Equally, if you want all the latest news from WWDC, including rumors in the run-up to it, youre in the right place TechRadar will also be attending the conference, so make sure to check back here for more news, views and analysis. You might also like 5 things to expect at WWDC 2024 ChatGPT shows off impressive voice mode in new demo and it could be a taste of the new Siri iPhone 16 Pro Max: latest news, rumors and everything we know so far ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/will-apple-go-big- on-ai-at-wwdc-2024-almost-certainly-but-it-could-think-different --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .