All of the rumors ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next month point to some big new AI features coming to the iPhone and other Apple platforms, likely including the Mac and iPad. We've been hearing a lot about what those features might be as well as how they'll actually work, and a new report suggests that Apple might finally have found itself an AI partner to handle some of the more complex AI features.
Previous Bloomberg reports had Apple in discussions with OpenAI about using the generative AI technology behind the popular ChatGPT to power futuristic AI features on the iPhone. The same reports also suggested that Apple was having similar discussions with Google, potentially choosing to use its Gemini chatbot technology instead. Now, Bloomberg has added an update to those reports, saying that Apple now appears to be within touching distance of agreeing a deal with OpenAI.
The report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter when saying that Apple has closed in on an agreement. It's believed that the OpenAI technology could be just part of the AI push that Apple is about to undertake, too.
Previous reports had suggested that Apple will try to power some of its less intensive AI features using on-device processing, choosing to avoid sending data to the cloud wherever possible. There are a couple of good reasons to go that route, not least the fact that handling the processing of data on-device can make for a snappier experience. Performance is just part of the equation here, however, with Apple likely to tout the privacy implications of keeping a user's data on their iPhone rather than using a cloud server to process it.
Bloomberg had also suggested that Apple would turn to cloud-based processing for the more advanced AI features, however. To facilitate that, it's believed that Apple will use its own chips to power the servers that handle its AI capabilities. More recently it's been suggested that Apple will use M2 chips in its data centers, similar to those that are already used in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro.
If Apple sticks to its usual release cadence we can expect the company to announce the new iOS 18 and other software updates at WWDC on June 10 before a months-long beta process comes to an end in September. That's when we expect that the updates will then be rolled out to the public.