Apple's iOS 18 AI features will run 'entirely on-device' and feature privacy and speed benefits

As we get ever closer to the June WWDC event at Apple Park we're learning more and more about what we can expect from the big opening keynote. That keynote will be streamed online and has historically been when Apple previews all of its big new software updates. This year iOS 18 is expected to be at the forefront of those previews and we've been hearing a lot about potential new AI features. Now, a new report has added more color to Apple's plans for those features.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, Apple's AI features will not use server-side components as is normally the way but rather go the other route, and run the large language models required to make them work on-device instead. That will mean that the features will use Apple's iPhone chips to process requests and handle data. As a comparison, chatbots like ChatGPT use servers that handle processing over the Internet.

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Gurman says that Apple's large language model will run entirely on-device which will mean that there are some benefits to be noted. One of those benefits is that Apple will be able to boast performance improvements due to the lack of an internet request. With no need to send information to a server and then wait for a response, iPhone owners can expect a speedier experience than might otherwise be possible.

Another benefit is the potential privacy implications of going the on-device route. Apple will be able to point out that none of the information being handled by its AI features ever leaves the iPhone that it's being run on, something that could be a big deal depending on what those features are actually doing. Apple has long made privacy a key focus for its hardware and software and that is sure to be part of this iOS 18 announcement as well.

Gurman also says that Apple will market the new AI features as improvements that will help people in their daily lives rather than something akin to a chatbot, but we'll need to wait for the WWDC event to learn what that will actually mean for users.

Apple is expected to announce the new iOS 18 software on June 10 as part of that WWDC event while the update will likely be made available to developers on the same date. The public won't be able to install iOS 18 until this fall, however, likely in September.