The iPhone's big new iOS 18 AI features will be powered by data centers running Apple silicon

There have been a lot of rumors and reports of late that claim Apple is going to bring some big much-needed AI-powered features to the iPhone when iOS 18 is released later this year and while we've heard that those features will run on-device, others will require a server. Those cloud servers will allow Apple to handle more complex tasks, including generative AI workflows, and a new report now suggests that the servers will run Apple's own custom chips.

We've been hearing more and more about Apple's plans to put its own chips into servers of late, and it's a plan that makes sense. Apple's Macs, iPhones, and iPads all use custom-designed chips that are built by TSMC and it's proven to be a real boon for the company. More control means that Apple has a better lock on power usage and performance, and it can tailor chips to specific needs as well. In the case of servers, it's suggested Apple will produce chips that can run AI-related workflows particularly well.

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There was previously no timeline for when the Apple-designed chips would be used, but a new Bloomberg report by Mark Gurman suggests that Apple will have its in-house server chips ready soon enough to power the cloud component for the iOS 18 AI push.

Gurman says that the company will put new high-end chips into cloud computing servers and then use those servers to handle more complex AI tasks that would not be practical to run on iPhones locally. However, the report notes that simpler AI-related features will still be processed directly on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

The benefits to running some AI tasks on-device include speed and privacy. By not having to process AI tasks in the cloud Apple can remove a performance bottleneck associated with wireless data connections, for example. Privacy is a key aspect for Apple as well, and removing the need to send data to a cloud-based server has obvious benefits here.

In terms of performance, Gurman believes that the first chips to be used in Apple's data centers will be the M2 Ultra, a chip that customers can already buy in the Mac Pro and Mac Studio. However, Apple recently announced the M4 as part of the iPad Pro refresh so it's surely only a matter of time before an Ultra version of that chip is being used as well. Apple is yet to confirm when Macs with M4-series chips will be announced, however.