Apple is enhancing its Siri voice assistant and operating systems with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to stay competitive in AI.
This upgrade was unveiled at Apple’s annual developers conference.
It introduces a new personalized AI system called “Apple Intelligence” that aims to simplify navigation across Apple devices.
The integration allows iPhone and Mac users to access ChatGPT through a partnership with OpenAI, enhancing text and content generation tools.
A test version will be available in the autumn.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said the move would elevate Apple’s products to new heights.
He was speaking at the the Worldwide Developers Conference at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Despite this, the market reacted coolly, with Apple’s share price dropping by 1.91 percent on the announcement day.
The partnership also drew criticism from Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and Twitter/X, who threatened to ban iPhones from his companies over data security concerns.
Musk wrote on X: “Apple has no clue what’s actually going on once they hand your data over to OpenAI.”
Apple has not responded to these allegations.
Samsung also took the opportunity to mock Apple’s announcement, tweeting, “Adding ‘Apple’ doesn’t make it new or groundbreaking. Welcome to AI.”
This isn’t the first instance of the South Korean company undermining its competitor.
Apple’s main challenge will be whether these new AI tools help it catch up with rivals who have been quicker to embrace AI technology.
In January, Apple was overtaken by Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company and by chip-maker Nvidia in early June.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, remarked that while Apple’s new AI system should reassure investors, integrating ChatGPT could expose deeper issues.
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“Apple Intelligence” isn’t a standalone product but is embedded into every Apple app and product, offering capabilities like refining message drafts and optimizing travel routes.
Siri has also been revamped with a new interface and more conversational approach to improve user navigation.
Apple emphasized the security of “Apple Intelligence,” noting that some processing will occur on-device while larger tasks will be cloud-based without storing data.
Apple’s move to integrate ChatGPT reflects the current power of OpenAI in the AI industry.
The company also announced that its mixed-reality headset, Vision Pro, will be available in the UK on July 12.
Other new features include sending texts via satellite, scheduling messages, controlling AirPods Pro with head gestures, a cross-device password app, and locking specific apps behind Face ID or passcodes.
