The arrival of ChatGPT on iPhones seems imminent, with reports suggesting that Apple is making strategic moves.
On May 26th, local time, it was reported that Apple has reached an agreement with OpenAI to integrate the latter's chatbot, ChatGPT, into iOS 18. The partnership is expected to be announced at the special event of WWDC 2024 scheduled for June 10th. However, to avoid relying solely on OpenAI as the primary supplier for a key new iOS feature, Apple is also in talks with Google to potentially incorporate Google's large model, Gemini, as an alternative.
Earlier on May 11th, Apple was reported to have finalized an agreement with OpenAI to introduce some of the latter's technology into the iPhone later this year, providing a "chatbot" supported by ChatGPT as part of the AI features in iOS 18.
At this year's Apple WWDC developer conference, Apple will unveil various AI strategies focusing on everyday tools for regular consumers. According to Mark Gurman, a long-time Apple reporter, the core of Apple's new AI strategy is "Project Greymatter," an AI toolset to be integrated into core applications like Safari, Photos, and Notes. For less complex tasks, AI functions will run entirely on local devices; if more computation is needed, it will be offloaded to the cloud, powered by servers driven by Apple's M2 Ultra chip.
Some of the known new AI features include transcribing voice memos, AI photo editing, speeding up desktop search with Spotlight, enhancing web searches in Safari, intelligent summarization, and automatic suggestions for email and message replies. Additionally, Apple's voice assistant, Siri, will receive enhancements from AI capabilities.
Currently, Apple does not have its own chatbot. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT at the end of 2022, this market has been rapidly evolving. Reports indicate that some Apple executives are against the idea of developing an in-house chatbot, and the version Apple is working on has not met expectations yet.
Therefore, Apple has been in discussions with Google and OpenAI to integrate their chatbots into iOS 18. In March this year, there were rumors of Apple and Google nearing an agreement, with both parties considering finalizing details before WWDC. However, Apple ultimately reached an agreement with OpenAI more quickly.
However, there are risks for Apple in collaborating with OpenAI. Recent controversies surrounding OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, have been escalating. Not long ago, with the departure of chief scientist Ilya, OpenAI's core safety team "Super Alignment" was reportedly disbanded, and the company was revealed to have employees sign exit agreements with "non-disparagement commitments." Last week, American actress Scarlett Johansson made a statement regarding OpenAI's chatbot using a voice similar to hers, questioning the company's denial of intentionally "mimicking" her voice.
Gurman mentioned that due to these considerations, Apple is still working on an agreement with Google to have Gemini as the company's second option, but this part will not be disclosed at the June WWDC. In any case, these partnerships will buy Apple some time until their in-house chatbot is ready.
In May this year, Google introduced a series of updates for its large model, Gemini, at the I/O developer conference, showcasing projects like Project Astra powered by an upgraded Gemini, the Veo video model competing with Sora, and an AI search engine supporting multimodal inputs. Microsoft also presented various AI-related updates at the Build developer conference, including Team Copilot, new Agent features, and the Phi-3 model series.
Analysts point out that Apple is still playing catch-up in the AI field. The company has a significant advantage that few competitors can match, which is its vast user base. When these AI features of iOS 18 are rolled out later this year, with support from hundreds of millions of Apple devices worldwide, Apple could potentially become a major player in AI overnight. However, Apple may market these features as beta versions, indicating that the technologies are not fully mature yet.
(Original Title: Integration of GPT into iOS? Apple Reportedly Teams Up with OpenAI for AI Photo Editing, Automatic Summarization, etc.)
