After Google and Microsoft showed how they are integrating the new generation of AI into their products and services, it was Apple’s turn. One thing quickly became clear: Apple wants its AI capabilities to be not only useful and easy to use, but also to protect users’ privacy.
The “Apple Intelligence” feature set consists of three layers:
- Many simple tasks take place right on the devices. Apple has created compact AI models that can be quickly augmented with adapters (see glossary below), depending on the task at hand.
- If the local AI model is overwhelmed, it gets help from Apple’s own cloud. Called “Private Cloud Compute,” the company has created an environment with numerous security measures to protect user data.
- There is an optional integration with ChatGPT. Users must manually confirm that they want to forward the request there. An account there is not required, and these chats aren’t used for AI training. Integration with other services such as Google Gemini or Anthropic Claude is possible, but has not been announced.
Features of Apple Intelligence include proofreading text, summarizing emails, and even a simple image generator. Siri will also be able to perform tasks across applications.
All of this will be available in English only in the US for now starting in fall. You will need a fairly recent Apple device, including the latest iPhone 15 Pro, as well as iPads and Macs with M-Chips. Last but not least, features will be added gradually. Apple is being very cautious here. Given the missteps of Google and Microsoft with their AI offerings (see below), this seems appropriate.
However, we cannot yet judge how well Apple Intelligence will work in practice. I would be surprised if everything goes smoothly …
Interestingly, all these features will be available for free, including ChatGPT. Personally, I would have expected Apple Intelligence to be part of the “Apple One” subscriptions. The company seems to be relying on the new AI features to boost hardware sales instead.
Here is the part of Apple’s keynote that deals with this topic.