Apple's AI tech lags behind rivals by 2 years: Report
Apple's in-house generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which powers its Apple Intelligence feature, is said to be over two years behind industry leaders, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported in his latest Power On newsletter. Gurman quoted internal sources at Apple who say that the firm's upcoming AI features lack the "wow factor" of rival technologies currently offered by Google, OpenAI, and Meta.
Apple's AI underperforms in internal studies
Internal studies at Apple have reportedly revealed that OpenAI's ChatGPT beats the new Siri by 25% in accuracy, and is capable of answering 30% more questions. The finding comes in line with Apple's plan to partner with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its operating systems. The goal of the partnership is to provide users with improved generative AI assistance, recognizing the performance gap between their technologies.
Unique position in AI technology deployment
Despite the AI setback, Gurman notes Apple's control over a vast ecosystem of tightly integrated devices could work in its favor. The position enables swift deployment of new technologies across its product range, something that could help close the AI gap with the competition. The company's track record of successfully entering new markets indicates it still remains a formidable player in the tech industry.
Apple Intelligence to be integrated across product range
Apple's latest iPhone 16 series, Macs, and iPad lineup (except for the entry-level model) now support Apple Intelligence. A new iPhone SE 4 with Apple Intelligence support will launch in March, along with an AI-capable entry-level iPad later this year. The company also plans to extend this technology to Vision Pro and deliver AI notification summaries on Apple Watch.
iOS 18.1 to feature majority of Apple's AI capabilities
Most of Apple's AI capabilities are expected to be part of the upcoming iOS 18.1 update, slated to launch later this month. The update will bring an overhauled Siri interface and the Clean Up tool, among other features. However, most AI facilities will be rolled out in a staggered manner until the release of iOS 18.4, sometime in March next year.
