Apple's voice assistant, Siri, may be getting more advanced artificial intelligence and allowing users to control other individual app functions by voice, a move that could reflect the iPhone maker's broader AI strategy.
The people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private, claimed the new approach would give Siri full control over every aspect of an app for the first time, a change that will be a focal point of the company's revived AI push, the people said.
(Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash)
The update rewrites Siri's underlying software with big language models, a fundamental component of generative AI. This new system will allow Siri to control your iPhone or iPad more accurately.
This includes sending and deleting emails, reading specific publications in Apple News, sending web links via email, reading individual documents, moving notes to different folders, and even asking the device to summarize articles. While cloud computing will handle more advanced functions, during deployment the device will perform more basic AI activities.
The update is part of the company's broader AI plans to be announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10. Apple is developing several features, including AI-generated emoji, automatic message replies, automatic webpage and notification summaries, advanced photo editing, and voice memo transcription and summarization.
Currently, Siri can only be used for more general tasks like managing smart home devices, playing music playlists, searching for information, etc. Additionally, the company is providing developers with app intents, which they can use to create custom ways for Siri to access specific functions.
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Apple's broader AI strategy
The company is also in talks with startup OpenAI to incorporate its chatbots and other technology into its iOS operating system, and is in talks with Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., about future use of its Gemini software.
Ahead of this year's OS upgrade, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi has tasked his team with creating as many new AI features as possible.
Going a step further, the new system will use AI to monitor user behavior on the device and trigger the launch of Siri-controlled features, and while it will initially only work with Apple apps, the company hopes to enable hundreds of commands.
The feature is one of Apple's more complex AI projects and probably won't be available until early next year when it's rolled into an iOS 18 update, according to people familiar with the matter. The first version of the new OS is expected to be released in September, coinciding with the launch of the next iPhone models.
Siri, Bixby, and AI
Apple's big AI Siri overhaul comes just a few months after Galaxy AI was integrated into Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby. However, Bixby is only capable of launching Samsung's Galaxy AI tools hands-free. As a result of the integration, AI isn't fully supported, and rather Bixby only serves as a way to launch Samsung's other AI features.
However, previous reports have claimed that top Samsung executives are competing with Apple to develop Bixby, a voice assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence.
Wonjun Choi, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile division, said he believes Bixby will need to be rethought in the future to make its features smarter and take advantage of generative AI.
Choi said that Samsung is “working hard” on developing generative AI features for Bixby, but couldn't currently say when those features would be available.
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