Recent rumors have held that Apple will allow chatbots to be integrated more deeply into its operating systems, and it looks like OpenAI is getting the first crack at it with ChatGPT. But Apple is still working on a deal with Google to do the same with Gemini, according to Gurman. He is also rumored to be speaking with Anthropic. (Those conversations began before the current showdown with OpenAI's Scarlett Johansson, but they underscore why Apple might want more than one iPhone chatbot deal.) Whatever those potential partnerships mean, Apple's approach to ai will apparently focus on being practical.
One major and notable improvement that Apple will announce could be a “smart summary” feature that Gurman mentions. This will apparently summarize missed texts, notifications, and other things like “web pages, news articles, documents, notes, and other media.” This could be particularly good when it comes to dealing with iOS notifications, which can be overwhelming and difficult to control. And if you squint, it's vaguely reminiscent of Microsoft's recently announced Recall feature that lets you look at what you've been doing on your computer.
The Voice Memo app could also get a big boost in ai-generated transcriptions, Gurman writes. Selfishly, that will be key for referencing interview recordings, but it could also be useful, for example, for students who record their lessons for later reference. Apple devices already have similar features, such as automatically generated voicemail transcripts and system-wide captions for video, audio, and conversations.
The company also reportedly plans to announce ai-powered improvements to on-device Spotlight search, web searches with Safari, as well as writing suggestions for emails and text messages. And the company can also use ai to retouch photos and generate emoji on the fly, based on what you're texting, a type of feature that seems to constantly cause problems for these companies. (See Meta's Waluigi ai stickers with weapons or Google's inappropriate racial diversity Nazi images.)
Apple could show off a better, more natural-sounding voice for Siri, based on Apple's great language models, as well as better Siri functionality on the Apple Watch. Where possible, Apple devices will do all of this locally, but for complicated tasks, they'll offload processing to Apple's own M2 Ultra-based servers, Gurman writes. In general, he says devices “released in the last year” will get the most new on-device ai features.
In addition to the ai features, the company may announce an iOS 18 feature that will allow users to change their app icons to different colors, according to Gurman. Something similar is possible now, using the iOS Shortcuts app, but I would appreciate a simpler method. This is in addition to the other rumored change to the iPhone's home screen that will finally allow users to place app icons wherever they want instead of iOS forcing a top-to-bottom and left-to-right layout. Whats Next? Custom launchers?
Update May 26, 2024, 11:38 am ET: Some rumored features were developed and more context added.
