San Francisco (United States) (AFP) – Apple unveiled an artificial intelligence overhaul for the iPhone on Monday, turning to Google for help two years after the company stumbled on a first attempt. The presentation marked Apple CEO Tim Cook’s final appearance at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference — Cook will cede the reins to longtime executive John Ternus in September. Cook, who took over as chief executive after the death of Steve Jobs in 2011, appeared to wipe away a tear while addressing the audience of developers and Apple executives, calling his experience “an honor of a lifetime.”
Cook two years ago announced at the same conference that Apple was making a major leap to embrace AI, in a program called Apple Intelligence, as the company faced pressure to join the AI race that had engulfed its US tech giant rivals. But its promised rollout never occurred fully, with a much-anticipated upgrade to the Siri voice assistant failing to materialize despite the announcements, drawing a lawsuit from some US customers that the company settled earlier this year.
Apple’s more deliberate pace in entering the AI frenzy has won praise from some analysts, who credit the company for staying out of the hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure spending committed by rivals to build out AI capacity. The company underlined this narrative at the event, saying it was taking its time to get the technology right. “AI is incredibly powerful technology with the potential to shape society in profound ways, and with proper care, unlock meaningful benefits for people everywhere,” Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi said in a launch video. “Still, some appear to be racing forward, seemingly pursuing AI for the sake of AI, without clear regard for the people…that it’s ultimately meant to serve.”
The company again promised a strengthened Siri — dubbed Siri AI — with the ability to communicate naturally and track information across apps like Maps and Mail and carry out tasks. “Overall, this was an impressive event that did not disappoint as Cook and Apple finally unveiled an AI strategy that will unleash the true monetization opportunity for AI,” said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Some of the features, including image generation, will have daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models, the company said. Siri AI would not be available initially in Europe and China, two major markets for the company, as it works out regulatory issues.
Many of the advances Apple announced on Monday have already been rolled out to individual users by Google, with AI-powered Gemini features added to Gmail, Maps, and its Android operating system for smartphones and tablets. “Apple is making an enormous bet on AI — but their bet is that they don’t need to spend hundreds of billions per year on AI infrastructure…to reap the benefits,” said John Gruber, a closely followed blogger. Instead of building models in-house, Apple hired Google to provide the AI capabilities for its new features, using a version of the search engine giant’s Gemini model rather than any technology developed internally.
Google and Apple are already closely tied, with Google paying out tens of billions of dollars every year to be the default search engine on the iPhone’s Safari web browser. Apple also touted its parental controls as tech companies face increasing pressure worldwide on child safety and screen addiction. These included beefed-up time allowance tools for children, with special attention on social media and games.
Despite the company’s lack of a competitive AI offering, Apple shares have largely defied gravity over the past two years, and the stock is up about 15 percent this year. In the first quarter of this year, Apple iPhone sales grew by double digits in just about every country where it does business.
© 2024 AFP
