Although Apple does not reveal much about its plans for artificial intelligence (AI), there is a chance that this will change soon. During the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook gave a few hints about what to expect from the company in terms of AI.
Cook stated that Apple will continue to invest in “technologies that will shape the future,” such as artificial intelligence, into which the company is still putting “an enormous amount of time and effort.”
“This year” probably refers to the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that takes place in June, where the company will present the latest advances in its operating systems. The comment came after Mark Gurman of Bloomberg said on Sunday that iOS 18 will be “one of the biggest iOS updates – if not the biggest – in the company’s history.” Gurman said in October that iOS 18 will mark the beginning of Apple’s focus on generative AI.
During Thursday’s presentation, Cook almost confirmed this bet when he answered a question from Mike Ng of Goldman Sachs: “As I mentioned earlier, we have a lot of internal work to do related to generative AI. We do not get ahead of ourselves, and so we will stay true to that. However, this year we have some things that leave us extremely excited, which we will talk about later.”
Possible applications of generative AI
It is used to produce content. It is still unclear how Apple will use AI in its operating systems. Siri is the most notable feature and could greatly improve its functionality and responses.
Apple’s products already include non-generative AI features; the company prefers the term “machine learning” instead of “AI.” On Thursday, Cook stressed this: “Of course, it is built on many innovations that Apple spent several years developing, from silicon to displays, and significant AI and machine learning, all the hand tracking, the room mapping,” Cook said. “We are very excited about it because it is powered by AI.”
