Apple will reportedly rely on machine-learning models that completely run on-device for the first batch of iOS 18 AI features the company is set to introduce in under two months at WWDC 2024, reports Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman in the latest edition of the weekly Power On newsletter.
In the paywalled Q&A section of the newsletter, Gurman reports that the “initial wave” of iOS 18 AI features is likely to run on-device without relying on cloud processing. Apple has apparently figured out a way to squeeze its in-house Large Language Model (LLM) to run locally on iPhones, meaning that most AI features heading for iOS 18 will likely be accessible offline and more private since users’ data won’t have to be processed server-side. On-device AI features will also run faster as they are not susceptible to the quality of an internet connection.
However, the on-device approach to AI has a few drawbacks. More sophisticated AI features like text generation and other forms of content creation still require some cloud processing. The most demanding iOS 18 AI capabilities could also be limited to the latest iPhone hardware with more capable Neural Engines and GPUs, meaning that some users with older iPhone models could miss out on accessing those features.
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In all cases, the backend for cloud-processed iOS 18 AI features likely won’t come from Apple itself as the company is said to be in talks with providers such as OpenAI, Google, and Baidu to use their AI infrastructure and cloud-based machine-learning models. Recently discovered code also suggests that Apple is preparing an AI-based browser assistant for Safari that could help summarize content from webpages and more.
It’s all but confirmed that Apple will bring forward a slew of new AI-based features across the board with iOS 18, macOS 15, and more at WWDC 2024. Apple aims to introduce AI capabilities within every corner of iOS 18 as the company has largely remained silent features-wise on today’s AI frenzy that has swept the market.
Look out for AI-powered features spanning Siri, Messages, Spotlight Search, Apple Music, Xcode, and more. iOS 18 is also said to introduce considerable UI design changes across the board, with these changes said to make the update one of the biggest in iPhone’s history.
