Apple is anticipating that the forthcoming updates for iOS 18, apps 15, watchOS 11, and tvOS 18 will be “ambitious and compelling” due to the significant fresh application features and designs in progress for the iPhone, iPads, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac. This information comes from Mark Gurman, a writer for Bloomberg. Many of the anticipated changes, such as a more intelligent Siri type that enhances the virtual agent’s integration with the operating systems, are believed to involve conceptual AI, although specific details are scarce. Leaker @Tech_Reve suggests that Apple is leveraging large-language models (LLMs) to completely overhaul Siri and position it as the “ultimate virtual assistant” and “Apple’s most potent killer AI app.”
Gurman reports that Apple is working on a redesigned interface between Siri and the Communications app to facilitate users in answering complex questions and auto-completing words more easily. Moreover, productivity apps like Pages and Keynote may incorporate AI-assisted writing and slide deck design features, possibly integrated with automatically generated Apple Music tracks.
Apple reportedly intends to allocate $1 billion annually to AI research, with key executives overseeing the development efforts. Gurman indicates that the company is striving to catch up with Google and OpenAI in the realm of conceptual AI, especially with only a few significant technological advancements expected for the iPhone 16 in the near future, raising the stakes. Consequently, Gurman speculates that iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 could be “groundbreaking” given the recent developments.
Despite this, Apple is said to be proceeding cautiously with its app development due to the high stakes involved. Recent revelations suggest that Apple halted the introduction of new features to allow its engineers to concentrate entirely on enhancing existing software.
Apple completed the second “M1” iterations of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 last month. However, the software executive management team identified numerous overlooked flaws during internal testing, prompting a one-month delay to address these issues, as per Gurman. Apple is reportedly contemplating whether to deploy its new generative Artificial technology via the cloud, as an on-device experience, or a combination of both approaches, with development now back on track.
Apple is expected to unveil its LLM-powered version of Siri during its iOS 18 developer preview at WWDC 2024. However, additional conceptual AI features currently in development may only be accessible on iPhone 16 models and might not be revealed until Apple debuts its next-generation flagship smartphones in September 2025.
