At the Let Loose event held on May 7 to unveil the new iPad Air and iPad Pro, Apple wasn’t thrifty with throwing around AI.
ChatGPT is a household name — in a relative sense — when it comes to AI and will bring familiarity to many iPhone users.
It is unlikely that Apple will go with a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to integrating AI into its software.
The one difference between Apple’s models and those from Google and OpenAI is that the former will work on-device.
For Apple, which hasn't really ‘entered-entered’ the AI software market yet, collaborating with Google, OpenAI on AI could address investor worries about their competitiveness, potentially boosting their stock price.
Apple
87 minutes. That’s how long the iPhone 15 launch event was in September 2023. And in those 87 minutes not even once did Apple mention those two words that everyone in the tech industry seems to have fallen hook, line and sinker. Keep in mind, this was when ChatGPT had gone beyond the initial awe-inducing tool to something which people were now much more familiar with. This was also when Google Bard — as it was called then — had also made its presence felt and Microsoft Copilot was navigating the AI landscape in Windows 11 and other popular services. But Apple? Not a peep at all.
Things have changed dramatically since then as AI has gone beyond being the buzzword. Apple realises that — not that it didn’t know but was being quintessentially Apple and keeping it low — and now suddenly from never openly mentioning AI, the folks in Cupertino are gearing up to show the ace up their sleeves. At the Let Loose event held on May 7 to unveil the new iPad Air and iPad Pro, Apple wasn’t thrifty with throwing around AI. The M4 processor has been introduced with the iPad so that Apple’s tablet PC could get AI-focused features.
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One size doesn’t fit all
Now, a new report by Bloomberg has revealed that Apple is on the verge of striking a deal with OpenAI to introduce AI-powered features in iOS 18. The deal hasn’t been confirmed and still may not go through but is very close, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman who has a solid track record when it comes to news from Apple Park in Cupertino.
From Apple’s perspective, it makes a lot of sense. ChatGPT is a household name — in a relative sense — when it comes to AI and will bring familiarity to many iPhone users. For OpenAI, it is an almost no-brainer as getting access to billions of iOS devices would mean a wider reach for its models.
It is unlikely that Apple will go with a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to integrating AI into its software.
A potential partnership between Google's AI language model, Gemini, and Apple has also been mooted. The report by Bloomberg says that there’s no agreement between the two companies, talks “are ongoing”. Those discussions haven’t led to an agreement, but are ongoing.
There have been reports about Apple developing its own AI models as well. The one difference between Apple’s models and those from Google and OpenAI is that the former will work on-device. It is something that will give Apple more control over the whole end-user experience.
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Slow but steady
In March 2024, Greg Joswiak, better known as Jos, posted on X announcing Apple’s annual developer conference. “Absolutely Incredible” was the message hinting at the ‘A’ and ‘I’ and WWDC being an AI-centric event.
For Apple, which hasn't really ‘entered-entered’ the AI software market yet, collaborating with Google, OpenAI on AI could address investor worries about their competitiveness, potentially boosting their stock price.
Investors were spooked about the lack of AI activity on Apple’s end. But this is Apple we are talking about. It was never, ever going to rush into things. When has it ever done that? Sure, there will be the usual jabs and jibes about “Apple copied this” or “Google did it first” but that’s never been Apple’s modus operandi. The folks in Cupertino are known to play the slow and steady game and do it right rather than rush into things and land in potentially face-saving situations.
Deals with OpenAI and Google also reduce the risk of getting into the antitrust mess which could be on its doorstep with an exclusive deal with just one company. Case in point: the famous billion-dollar Apple-Google search deal. The European Union is always sharpening its claws whenever a big tech deal is announced and Apple will be vary about that as well.
Apple might be late to the AI party but if history has taught us then Tim Cook and co. would rather do it late and right than early and half-baked. So a dash of Gemini, some dollops of ChatGPT and some of its own sauce — that could be the recipe for all the AI Apple could dish out for billions of its users in the coming months.
