This year, Apple plans to take a big leap forward in the field of artificial intelligence. And this leap forward will come with the announcement of the next generation of software updates for the device, including iOS 18. Apple reportedly plans to integrate AI more deeply into its product line by leveraging custom-designed processors in its data centers. .
According to Bloomberg's Mark Garman, Apple is leveraging powerful in-house chips, including the M2 Ultra processor currently found in the high-end Mac Pro and Mac Studio desktops, to increase the number of chips planned for its devices. The company is working on some of the most demanding AI tasks in the world. This includes enhancing some of the upcoming features of iOS 18. These custom designed processors are powerful in performing AI processing functions. However, Apple is also interested in introducing a future version of its AI server based on the M4 chip.
Garman said Apple's plan to leverage its custom chips and cloud-based processing for AI tasks began three years ago. However, this timeline has recently been accelerated due to the recent surge in AI with tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
Apple reportedly plans to stick to a two-tier approach to AI processing. For simple tasks like summarizing notifications, the company plans to continue handling them directly on Apple devices. However, for more complex tasks such as image generation and long response processing, Apple leverages cloud-based services. Advanced processing may also be included in advanced versions of Siri. This strategy aligns with Apple's commitment to improving user experience through AI, while prioritizing user privacy and security.
Previously, there were reports that Apple was planning to make all AI features on iOS 18 an on-device feature. However, a new report from Gurman suggests that some features will use his servers in the cloud. In fact, this suggests that while Apple will rely on internal servers for initial deployment and planning, it may also rely on servers from other companies in the future.
Apple's CFO, Luca Maestri, also touched on this approach during a recent earnings call. He said Apple leverages both its own data center capabilities and the capabilities of third-party providers, emphasizing the successful historical model the company intends to maintain.
Interestingly, Apple is expected to announce a comprehensive AI strategy at the Worldwide Developers Conference scheduled for June 10th.
Meanwhile, apart from AI, the upcoming iOS 18 update is expected to introduce many other notable features as well as AI enhancements. Some of the expected changes include the ability to customize the home screen, allowing users to freely arrange app icons, create free space, and arrange icons in rows or columns. It will look like this.
Additionally, this update is rumored to introduce support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging. This integration could improve communication between iPhone and Android users, enabling high-resolution photos and videos, voice messages, typing indicators, read receipts, and Wi-Fi messaging.
Another focus of iOS 18 is said to be accessibility, with potential improvements like adaptive voice shortcuts and a classification system for live speech. In terms of navigation, iOS 18 could bring enhancements to Apple Maps, including the ability to choose preferred routes and access topographic maps.
