Leading up to the most anticipated WWDC in quite some time, there were constant rumors of possible LLMs working with Apple for their next version of Siri.  Google Gemini and Open AI being the two frontrunners and then it was confirmed that Open AI had won the opportunity to partner with Apple.  The entire tech industry knew Apple would release something regarding AI but what would it be, would it be an entire model like the Apple UI model, Ferret which I wrote a story about earlier this year or would it be Open AI bringing their mechanics and directly implementing it into Siri.  Either way this would be an important strategic move for not just Open AI but also Apple as well to get a footprint in the AI space and encourage the average Apple user to get used to using AI.  Well…it was neither, what we got was the either profoundly dumb or profoundly intelligent ( pun intended) SEO heist that Apple created and announced called “ Apple Intelligence”.  

       Apple Intelligence is Apple's integrated, cross-platform solution implemented into the Apple ecosystem. It will be available on almost all Apple platforms ( we will get back to that part) and the majority of newer Apple devices. This initiative features generative AI tools for writing and image creation, an upgraded Siri assistant, and a variety of other advanced capabilities.  These capabilities will be rolled out later this year. With the rollout of these capabilities it will be one of the largest AI product deployments that we have seen in this recent age of AI.   Apple Intelligence will be released to about 400 million iPhone users.  While 400 million users is enormous, it hails in comparison to the entire ecosystem of 1 billion iPhone users out in the world.  So why aren’t the rest of the iPhone users being included in this?  First is that Apple Intelligence  will only be rolled out to people who will have iPhone 15 Pro and above.  You are probably asking yourself doesn’t this criteria limit the amount of users Apple wants to reach with Apple Intelligence? Yes it does, one reason for this limitation is the amount of compute that is needed to run these data intensive applications and then the other reason albeit pro capitalist reason, is the fact it incentivizes iPhone users to upgrade.  There has been so much discourse the last 4 years regarding the iPhone not really advancing and implementing breakthrough technology but with this upcoming release that quells that notion.

    Apple is clever because with the AI implementation, they decided to impact the three categories that mean the most to regular AI users: writing, images and using Siri.  This brings AI to the doorstep of users that I would have never engaged with otherwise.  This provides a flywheel for users to adopt and use AI features in other parts of their daily life and workflow with Apple.  With each element of Apple Intelligence it isn’t some esoteric feature that won’t be used but will be used by millions of people and will trickle down into bigger contexts such as social media.  This is the best way to usher billions of users into the next wave of technology that will control how they receive information and how they perceive information for the next 10 years. 

      The most impacted overhaul is Siri.  The general public’s least favorite AI.  It’s inability to properly answer questions or fetch particular information has been widely talked about and written about.  Even Siri appears in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David struggles to get Siri to do what he wants. Weirdly enough that was one of the reasons why there was an overhaul of Siri.  Siri's most noticeable change is that when it’s asked to do something there will be a multicolored ring around the edge of the phone screen that appears once activated.  It will have better on-screen awareness and richer contextual understanding, so if you want a phone number added to someone’s contact card who texted you, all you have to do is request that from Siri and it will understand the request within the proper context.  Where Siri will really shine is in the fact it can do individual tasks on your behalf such as send an email off from your drafts or order create a Google sheet document for your expenses in your notes.  This sounds awfully like AI agent frameworks such as MultiOn or Crew AI.  But unlike those frameworks, Apple Intelligence does not have the hurdle of having to be implemented and integrated properly, it’s already on your phone!  This will be the cultural and functional jump for the regular user that they wished Siri was when it was launched in 2011.

      The main mode of communication in the digital age is text and email, it is only right that Apple creates AI tools aimed directly at these functions and kill a couple  of companies along the way (*cough cough* Grammarly).  The writing tools have a suite of functionalities that will help any user proofread, style or rewrite any section of writing they might be engaging in.  It can also craft up an email from scratch using the details that you provide from previous notes or emails.  It's crazy to think that this is what my English teacher essentially did with me when I was younger and now the modern teenager has similar functionalities in their pocket at any time of day.  In addition to the writing there is the imaging.  The imaging might seem like an obvious competitor to platforms such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion but I don’t think that is the case.  This imaging just allows people to communicate their thoughts into useful illustrations and I think there will still be a sizable and growing market for high end imaging provided from companies such as Midjourney.   One of the most aha moments from Apple’s keynote was the debut of the image wand feature, which allows the user to turn ipad drawings and notes into full blown illustrations.  This gives every artist and college student an instant on ramp to use generative AI while being able to avoid using pricey design software *cough cough* Adobe.  And of course we can’t forget the most accessible Apple Intelligence feature, Genmoji.  Yes, emojis are what your five year old uses to write to others on Roblox. Yes, emojis are what hot girls use to show that they are interested.  Yes, over 10 billion emojis are used every day around the world.  So of course Apple will create a generative AI feature that allows you to create your own emojis even though it might render companies such Memoji obsolete. Also this does this within the keyboard.  Imagine making an Arnold  Schwarznager emoji for Terminator when your friend says “I will be back”. 
As legacy tech companies jump on the AI hype train, Apple might be the only one that can actually ride this train all the way to its proper destination.  With Apple Intelligence, it ensures that Apple will not only be able to leverage AI to everyday users but also ensure that they are woven into the fabric of everyday society.