Apple iPhone, MacBook may get generative AI features later this year

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the tech giant will roll out artificial intelligence-powered features ‘later this year’ in the fiscal first-quarter earnings. He emphasised that the company is spending ‘tremendous amount of time and effort’ on technologies like artificial intelligence.

During the call, he told analysts, “As we look ahead, we will continue to invest in these and other technologies that will shape the future. That includes artificial intelligence where we continue to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort, and we’re excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.”

This comes after Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple will release its “biggest” update i.e. iOS 18 in the operating system’s history. Cook has not reveal much details but it is expected that the tech giant is set to compete with Microsoft, Google, Amazon, OpenAI and other technology companies that are working on generative AI systems that can create text and images on command.

When the analysts asked for further details on the AI project, Cook stated, “Our M.O., if you will, has always been to do work and then talk about work, and not to get out in front of ourselves. And so we’re going to hold that to this as well. But we have got some things that we’re incredibly excited about, that we’ll be talking about later this year.” 

He further added, “Let me just say that I think there’s a huge opportunity for Apple with generative AI and with AI, without getting into many more details or getting out ahead of myself.”

Notably, both Google and Samsung have introduced generative AI features for image editing, audio transcription, and more in their latest Pixel 8 series and Samsung Galaxy S24 series. The Google AI features include Magic Editor, Magic Audio Eraser and more. Samsung, on the other hand, introduced AI features like Chat Assist, Circle to Search, Live Translate and more.

For the unversed, Apple is set to launch its much-awaited Vision Pro mixed reality headset today i.e. February 2. Announcing the launch, Cook revealed that Apple Vision Pro users will be able to explore more than 1 million apps including 600 built specifically for the Apple Vision Pro headsets.

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