Over the past year, AI ‘Artificial Intelligence’ has undergone incredible developments. After chatGPT, Google and Microsoft also introduced their own chatbot. Apple lagged behind, but they seem to be making up for that in iOS 18. In fact, according to internal sources, iOS 18 would be the biggest update ever!
According to various sources, Apple wants to fully focus on artificial intelligence this year in order to make up for their ‘lag’. Rumors have previously appeared that Apple wants to launch an AI model that works completely locally. The design may also be adjusted.
iOS 18 gets AI features
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to invest $1 billion a year in AI research and product development. As consumers, we will already notice something of this in this year’s major iPhone update.
According to Bloomberg, the three Apple executives; Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue and John Giannandrea were tasked with integrating AI functionalities into Apple’s products and services. Gurman reports that, for example, Cue wants to add artificial intelligence to Apple Music, Messages and the iWork apps.
John Giannandrea’s team is reportedly working on a new, smarter version of Siri, and that’s also expected this year.
It is still unclear whether Apple will release a chatbot that is comparable to ChatGPT, but in one research paper from Apple a new method has been described to run so-called LLMs on ‘weak’ hardware. This makes a chatbot that runs locally possible.
Expected AI features
Below you will find a list of possible new AI functions for iPhone, iPad and Mac that will probably become available later this year.
- Automatically build playlists using AI
- Automatically complete sentences in Messages
- Use messaging app to ask questions to a chat robot
- New AI functions for Keynote, Pages and Photos, among others
Improvements for Siri
Siri is the basis of Apple’s AI solutions. Rumors report that Siri is expected to function better with a new language model. The Commands app will also have more functions and Siri can execute multiple commands in succession.
RCS for iPhone
Good news for anyone who prefers to use Apple’s Messages app instead of WhatsApp or other chat services. Opposite 9to5Mac Apple has confirmed that the iPhone will support RCS, the successor to SMS, in 2024.
RCS stands for Rich Communication Services, and it is a communications standard for mobile networks intended to improve on traditional SMS (Short Message Service). RCS offers a range of advanced features and capabilities similar to those of popular chat apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage.
Custom design
If Apple internally calls iOS 18 the biggest update ever, then in addition to AI, a visible change will also have to take place. Perhaps iOS and iPadOS will also be graphically adjusted with a new design. The software may become more similar to macOS, such as new icons and more transparent windows.
iOS 18 release date
During WWDC 2024, which will take place in June, Apple will announce new software updates including iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. The successor to macOS Sonoma will also be presented. The updates are then expected to be available to the general public in the fall. It remains to be seen whether Apple’s AI functions will immediately become available worldwide, but perhaps some new functions will first be limited to English.