Apple gears up for generative AI in iPhones with rising challenge from Samsung

Even as operating as the largest tech company in the world, Apple is keeping its leg on the brakes of generative AI technologies in iPhones. However, its rivals such as Samsung are taking the AI game two steps further with its upcoming smartphone release.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his recent Power On weekly newsletter confirmed that Apple is working to break the AI threshold and launch new AI technologies at its annual developer conference this year.

Generative AI is taking the world by storm with its easy-to-interact offerings. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is one of the great examples of this trending technology. Major players across the industry including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon already launching products with generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs).

In preps, Apple has been gradually moving its internal tests around new AI features for devices since last year.

It has features such as auto-summarizing and auto-complete for its popular apps and productive software such as Pages and Keynote. The Cupertino-based company is also exploring new ways to provide AI experience via its Music app. This integration would allow better playlist suggestions/creation.

However, Siri, Apple’s digital assistant, would get the biggest overhaul with generative AI with a broad range of voice-related commands and capabilities to operate the iPhone.

These additions of generative AI are likely to appear with new iOS 18 software, which will also be announced at the event. iOS 18 will be released with the iPhone 16 lineup somewhere in the second half of 2024 followed by an OTA upgrade for all of the eligible iPhone models.

Developers:

Apple may launch a new separate guideline and developer support to develop apps with AI and bring new developer tools.

Samsung:

The news comes as Samsung, one of the key Apple competitors in the smartphone industry, will launch its new Galaxy S24 flagship device on January 17. The South Korean company is promoting this conference with the theme “Galaxy AI”.

Some reports suggest that Samsung has in-built generative AI for its premium smartphones for camera and in-device interactions. Samsung’s approach toward AI in smartphones will open more gates of competition in generative AI.