Apple Intelligence tipped to feature Google Gemini integration at launch, as well as ChatGPT

At WWDC 2024, Apple confirmed that its upcoming Apple Intelligence toolset will feature integration with ChatGPT to help field user queries that Siri can’t handle on its own, and now we’re hearing that a second third-party chatbot could be added to the mix.

According to Bloomberg’s resident Apple expert Mark Gurman, Google Gemini could join ChatGPT as one of two Siri-compatible chatbot options in Apple Intelligence. This integration could see iPhone, iPad and MacBook users given the option to use the cloud-based powers of ChatGPT or Google Gemini when Siri is unable to answer a query on-device.

Apple will reportedly announce its collaboration with Google “this fall” (aka September), which aligns with the assumed launch of Apple Intelligence, iOS 18 and the iPhone 16 line.

Rumors surrounding a partnership between Apple and Google have been swirling for some time now, but many tech commentators – including TechRadar’s own Lance Ulanoff – doubted its authenticity owing to Apple’s historic reluctance to bring parity between the best iPhones and best Android phones.

A hand holding an iPhone showing the new Siri

Siri could soon feature integration with ChatGPT and Google Gemini  (Image credit: Apple)

Ulanoff wrote back in March: “Apple's goal with the iPhone 16, iOS 18, and future iPhones is to differentiate its products from Android phones. It wants people to switch and they'll only do that if they see a tangible benefit. If the generative tools on the iPhone are the same as you can get on the Google Pixel 8 Pro (and 9) or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (and S25 Ultra), why switch?”

It’s a valid question, but perhaps Apple sees its additional (and so far unique) partnership with ChatGPT as the USP of its new and upcoming devices. 

There’s also the question of revenue to consider. Gurman recently reported that Apple’s “long-term plan is to make money off Apple Intelligence”, with the company keen to “get a cut of the subscription revenue from every AI partner that it brings onboard.”

It seems likely, then, that Apple will launch a paid version of Apple Intelligence which incorporates the premium, fee-paying features of ChatGPT and Google Gemini, respectively. 

Incidentally, Gurman also reports that Apple had brief conversations with Meta about incorporating its Llama chatbot into Apple Intelligence, but the iPhone maker allegedly decided against a partnership due to privacy concerns and a preference for Google’s superior AI technology.

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Excited about Apple Intelligence? The firm’s exec Craig Federighi certainly is, and has explained why it’ll be a cutting-edge AI for security and privacy

Reactions to Apple Intelligence, which Apple unveiled at WWDC 2024, have ranged from curious to positive to underwhelmed, but whatever your views on the technology itself, a big talking point has been Apple’s emphasis on privacy, in contrast to some companies that have been offering generative AI products for some time. 

Apple is putting privacy front and center with its AI offering and has been keen to talk about how Apple Intelligence – which will be integrated across iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia – would differ from its competitors by adopting a fresh approach to handling user information.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, and the main presenter of the WWDC keynote, has been sharing more details about Apple Intelligence, and the company’s privacy-first approach.

Speaking to Fast Company, Federighi explained more about Apple’s overall AI ambitions, confirming that Apple is in agreement with other big tech companies that generative AI is the next big thing – as big a thing as the internet or microprocessors were when they first came about – and that we’re at the beginning of generative AI’s evolution. 

WWDC

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple's commitment to AI privacy

Federighi told Fast Company that Apple is aiming to “establish an entirely different bar” to other AI services and products when it comes to privacy. He reinforced the messaging in the WWDC keynote that the personal aspect of Apple Intelligence is foundational to it and that users’ information will be under their control. He also reiterated that Apple wouldn’t be able to access your information, even while its data centers are processing it. 

The practical measures that Apple is taking to achieve this begin with its lineup of Apple M-series processors, which it claims will be able to run and process many AI tasks on-device, meaning your data won’t have to leave your system. For times when that local processing power is insufficient, the task at hand will be sent to dedicated custom-built Apple servers utilizing Private Cloud Compute (PCC), offering far more grunt for requests that need it – while being more secure than other cloud products in the same vein, Apple claims.

This will mean that your device will only send the minimum information required to process your requests, and Apple claims that its servers are designed in such a way that it’s impossible for them to store your data. This is apparently because after your request is processed and returned to your device, the information is ‘cryptographically destroyed’, and is never seen by anyone at Apple. 

Apple has published a more in-depth security research blog post going into more detail about PCC, which, as noted at WWDC 2024, is a system available to independent security researchers, who can access Apple Intelligence servers in order to verify Apple’s privacy and security claims around PCC.

Apple wants AI to feel like a natural, almost unnoticeable part of its software, and the tech giant is clearly keen to win the trust of those who use its products and to differentiate its take on AI compared with that of rivals. 

WWDC presentation

(Image credit: Apple)

More about ChatGPT and Apple Intelligence in China

Federighi also talks about Apple’s new partnership with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT into its operating systems. This is being done to give users access to industry-standard advanced models while reassuring users that ChatGPT isn’t what powers Apple Intelligence; the latter is exclusively driven by Apple’s own large language models (LLMs), which are totally distinct on Apple’s platforms, but you will be able to enlist ChatGPT for more complex requests. 

ChatGPT is only ever invoked at the user’s request and with their permission, and before any requests are sent to ChatGPT you’ll have to confirm that you want to do this explicitly. Apple teamed up with OpenAI to give users this option because, according to Federighi, GPT-4o is “currently the best LLM out there for broad world knowledge.” 

Apple is also considering expanding this concept to include other LLM makers in the future so that you might be able to choose from a variety of LLMs for your more demanding requests. 

Federighi also talked about its plans for Apple Intelligence in China – the company’s second biggest market – and how the company is working to comply with regulations in the country to bring its most cutting-edge capabilities to all customers. This process is underway, but may take a while, as Federighi observed: “We don’t have timing to announce right now, but it’s certainly something we want to do.”

We’ll have to see how Apple Intelligence performs in practice, and if Apple’s privacy-first approach pays off. Apple has a strong track record when it comes to designing products and services that integrate so seamlessly that they become a part of our everyday lives, and it might very well be on track to continue building that reputation with Apple Intelligence.

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Intel Mac users: macOS Sequoia won’t give you Apple Intelligence, but you’ll still get a host of must-have features

WWDC 2024 earlier this week saw the big reveal of macOS Sequoia, and of course, Apple’s new AI platform – with the further revelation that Apple Intelligence would not be available for Mac owners with Intel CPUs running Sequoia.

While Apple had previously stated that macOS Sequoia will run on the same Mac models as macOS Sonoma, whether they had Intel or Apple CPUs, Apple Intelligence requires an M1 processor (or better) to work – and that fact likely left Intel-powered Mac owners wondering if they’d be left out in the cold with Sequoia regarding other features. Well, the good news is this isn’t the case, and in fact there are only two pieces of functionality that’ll be exclusive to Apple silicon-powered Macs.

Those are Apple Intelligence, as already mentioned, and also live audio transcription in Apple Notes is only supported for devices which have Apple silicon. This feature will enable the recording of audio right in the Notes app, and will also swiftly generate transcriptions of that audio (which are fully searchable).

Other than that, all the other features in macOS Sequoia will come to Intel Macs (and M-series Macs too, of course).

WWDC 2024 macOS Sequoia Features

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Mirroring magic and more besides

This includes the hotly anticipated iPhone Mirroring feature, allowing you to view and control your iPhone’s screen using your Mac keyboard and trackpad. On top of that, macOS 15 ushers in the ability to receive iPhone notifications on your Mac, new window layout functionality that enables you to drag and ‘snap’ windows into a grid arrangement on your screen (just as in Microsoft’s Windows OS), the Password app replacing Keychain to manage and sync passwords more easily, and an improved Safari browser.

In short, that’s a pretty good haul even if your Intel-powered Mac can’t run Apple’s new AI features. How much that’ll matter to you is doubtless a subjective thing, and it’ll also depend on how well Apple Intelligence is realized when it actually arrives – although the Mac maker is certainly putting a lot of stock in it going by the initial launch, and has some well thought out ideas behind the AI system.

As 9 to 5 Mac, which spotted this info, observes, Apple Macs with Intel CPUs have at least one more year of support with macOS.

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Yahoo will take on Apple Intelligence and Google Gemini with its own AI features, in a move that will definitely make it relevant again

Guess what: Yahoo Mail is alive and well in the year 2024, and has begun adding new AI capabilities to your inbox to to simplify your emails and improve your overall task management. It’s a big week for AI considering Apple also announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC 24 – and it looks like Yahoo Mail is diving right into the world of AI with the same focus of productivity and digital assistance.

You may be surprised to hear the words ‘Yahoo Mail’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ strung together in the same sentence – rightfully so. While there are probably still a lot of people who haven’t switched up since the earlier 2000s, or people who use it to filter out spam, I can’t say I’ve seen or been emailed by anyone with an @yahoo.com email address ever. 

So, it’s safe to say that Yahoo’s push to include AI tech is likely aimed at trying to get more people to use the email client – and it might very well work. Whether you’re nostalgic for the good ol’ days or just looking to start fresh with a clean email hub that can offer you generative text assistance, personal context, and more, why wouldn’t you try Yahoo Mail? 

I’ve already made my account 

Unfortunately, the beta for Yahoo Mail AI is only available for US-based accounts, but I’m sure that will open up in the near future. In terms of some of the features to look forward to, you’ll have access to AI-generated summaries in a bullet point list, which you can find under a new tab called the ‘Priority Inbox’. So, Yahoo AI will highlight what it believes to be the most important information to you based on content and previous context from your general emailing habits. 

You’ll also have access to a ‘Quick Action’ button so you can add an event to your calendar, check-in for flights, and even track packages on their way over to you. 

However great these features are, there’s one big new change that’s cool enough to sway me over to Yahoo Mail. You’ll soon be able to link your Yahoo inbox to other email accounts like Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook so you can send and receive all your emails right from Yahoo Mail. So, if you want access to Gmail's sophisticated AI tools without having to pay, Yahoo Mail might be worth switching to! 

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Apple WWDC 2024 – 13 things we learned including what Apple Intelligence is and why a Calculator app can be exciting

The Apple WWDC 2024 keynote is always one of the highlights of the tech calendar, and this year's edition was bigger than most. That's because, as widely predicted, Tim Cook used the occasion to reveal Apple Intelligence – arguably the biggest development in Apple-land since… well, the reveal of the Vision Pro last year. 

As well as the big AI-related news, the nearly two-hour Apple event was absolutely packed with detail on everything from iOS 18 to the latest macOS to iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS. 

You can check out our WWDC 2024 live blog for full info on everything that was announced, but if you want the highlights then here are the 13 biggest announcements from WWDC 2024.

1. Apple Intelligence is coming soon…

WWDC

(Image credit: Apple)

Let's start with the big one, then.

Apple Intelligence is Apple’s new family of AI features, which will thread its way through every Apple platform and even work with third-party apps. It'll be entirely free, and available on iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia via their respective betas, then fully rolled out later this year.

It approaches AI in a very Apple way, which means privacy first, and most features work on the device you're using, without sharing to the cloud. When you need more power, Apple has a Power Cloud Compute option for complex requests, but Apple’s cloud still focuses more on privacy than any AI we’ve seen so far. 

Among the many features on offer you'll get access to generative writing, generative image creation, and third-party API tools, in addition to the massive upgrade coming to Siri (see below). Apple was a little late to the AI party, but it'll be fully up to speed soon.

2. But not everyone will get to use it

Exciting though Apple Intelligence is, it will only be available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac models using the Apple M1 chip or later.

This is understandable, given that it needs powerful Apple silicon to work, but will be disappointing for anyone who owns a standard iPhone 15, any iPhone 14 or earlier model, or indeed an Intel-based MacBook. Expect sales of the rumored iPhone 16 range to benefit considerably…

3. Siri got a huge update – and now comes with added ChatGPT

WWDC

(Image credit: Future)

Apple's voice assistant has been treading water for years, but Siri will finally get the makeover it so badly needs in iOS 18. That includes a visual refresh, with the assistant now a glowing light around the edges of your iPhone's screen. 

But Siri has also been given a much-needed brain transplant. It'll have 'on-screen awareness' to make it work better with apps – and if it can't answer a question, you can plug it into ChatGPT-4o's model for free, cloud-based wisdom. The bad news? The new Siri is powered by Apple Intelligence, which means that as stated above, you'll only get it on the latest iPhone 15 Pro models, or iPads and Macs that have at least an M1 chip. Still, it'll be a nice perk when we do upgrade.

4. Custom emojis with generative AI will ruin communication

WWDC

(Image credit: Apple)

Oh boy. If you thought emoji use was bad before, just wait for Apple’s new feature that enables you to just tell your iPhone/iPad/Mac what cool new emoji you want, and it’ll create it for you using generative AI – so there will truly be one for every occasion. 

Some will be adorable, some will be surreal, some will be disturbing, obviously. Will we love this feature? Or, more likely, will it be the moment when… hmmm, how to describe this? 'Hey iPhone, make us an emoji of a man in a leather jacket jumping his jetski over a shark.'

5. iOS 18's new updates look pretty sweet

iOS 18

(Image credit: Apple)

As expected, Apple revealed its next major software update, iOS 18, confirming that big changes are headed to core iPhone apps including Mail, Messages, Maps and Photos.

Mail, for instance, will soon be capable of categorizing your emails and providing easy-to-read digests, while the Photos app is being unified into a single view comprising a photo grid and a dates grid. 

iOS 18 will soon let you react to messages using any emoji in the Messages app, and you'll be able to schedule messages to send at a convenient time in the future. Significant customization improvements are also coming to the Home Screen and Control Center.

6. The next macOS got its California-themed name

macOS 15 logo

(Image credit: Apple)

We also found out the name of macOS 15: Sequoia. Despite the big reveal at the keynote, it wasn’t too much of a shock that Apple went for this. For a start, modern macOS releases have all been named after Californian landmarks or places – previous editions have been called Big Sur, Ventura, Monterey and Sonoma. Sequoia, named after a national park in Sierra Nevada, continues this tradition.

Internet sleuths also spotted ahead of WWDC that Apple has trademarked a number of potential names: Redwood, Grizzly, Mammoth, Pacific, Rincon, Farallon, Miramar, Condor, Diablo, Shasta… and Sequoia. As well as its name, we also found out that it’ll be coming out ‘this Fall’ (so September or October 2024), with a developer preview available right now.

7. Apple Vision Pro is going global

Vision Pro launch

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

As our Vision Pro review makes clear, Apple's mixed-reality headset is a special piece of kit that really has to be experienced. Thus far, it's only been available in the US – but that's changing now.

As of Thursday, June 13, customers in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore will be able to pre-order the Vision Pro, with devices shipping from Friday, June 28. Those in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK will have to wait a little longer, but will be able to pre-order from June 28, with devices available from July 12. 

How much will it cost? Well, we know that in the UK it will start at £3,499, and based on the US price – which is also $ 3,499 – we'd expect it to retail at around AU$ 6,349.

8. visionOS 2 will turn your 2D images into Spatial Photos

Alongside a global launch for the hardware, Apple announced visionOS 2 on the software side. The standout feature is that the headset can now turn your flat pictures into spatial photos, using machine learning. 

Spatial images have depth that makes them feel more like you’re viewing a memory than looking at a regular photo does, and this is a huge win for those of you with overflowing iCloud libraries.

When the visionOS 2 update rolls out later this year, other features you’ll unlock include travel mode being able to work on trains (alongside planes), while your Mac virtual display will get a lot bigger, with the max size being like having two 4K displays sitting side by side. There will also be new hand-gesture controls, which should allow you to quickly navigate to the settings menu, home view, and other useful tools.

9. iPadOS finally has a calculator!

The Math Notes feature in the iPadOS Calculator app revealed at WWDC 2024

(Image credit: Apple)

The biggest cheer of the night came not for the Vision Pro or iOS 18, but from… the Calculator app on iPadOS 18. Yes, really.

In fairness, the iPad has never had a native Calculator app, with users instead having to make do with third-party options, a fact which has inspired more than a few memes at Apple's expense over the years.

The new Calculator app is more than just a scaled-up version of the iOS app, though. Extra features include a resizable window and a sidebar that lists recent calculations. But better still is the new Math Notes integration.

This works with the Apple Pencil, allowing you to write equations that will be solved immediately once you write an equals sign. You can then make changes to various elements of the equation and see how the results change in real-time, plus turn equations immediately into charts and more. It looks pretty impressive.  

 

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10. watchOS added a few neat upgrades

an image of watchOS 11 Smart Stack

(Image credit: Apple)

The Apple Watch's operating system watchOS 11 will bring in a few nifty upgrades over its predecessor. While, rather disappointingly, it's not stacked with AI tricks, watchOS 11 will offer more intelligent widget stacks that should make using the Apple Watch’s display more convenient. 

It also introduces a new Vitals app that can help users understand how well one’s body responds to and recover from stress. Meanwhile, the new Training Load score uses an algorithm to generate a score based on how well a person is responding to training, by harnessing metrics such as average heart rates and resting, combined with one’s age and weight data. 

Apple hasn’t revamped watchOS that much, but the 11th iteration leans on evolution and should make wearing one of the best Apple Watches even better.

11. People will hear you way more clearly when calling from AirPods Pro 2

AirPods Pro 2 are getting a Voice Isolation feature, which promises to massively reduce wind noise and other loud sounds from the mic when you call someone using them. Given how good the noise cancellation on AirPods Pro 2 is, we’re looking forward to seeing how well this works. Other AirPods miss, sadly – it needs the mighty power of the Apple H2 chip, currently unique to AirPods Pro 2.

12. tvOS hasn't been entirely forgotten

The Enhance Dialogue feature in tvOS 18

(Image credit: Apple)

Unsurprisingly, tvOS wasn't exactly the main focus of the WWDC 2024 keynote, but it did get a few new features to enhance your Apple TV experience.

The most interesting of the tvOS 18 updates looks like InSight, the company’s own take on the X-Ray feature used by Amazon Prime Video, which displays onscreen info about actors, characters, and background music in movies and shows. 

The Apple TV 4K’s Enhance Dialogue feature, meanwhile, is getting an AI boost to make voices sound clear across a range of devices, and subtitles will get a similar treatment to generate onscreen text when muting or scanning back through programs. 

Last but not least, the Apple TV 4K will now be able to output images in the ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio format for better compatibility with 4K projectors.

13. Apple Photos took a leaf from Google's book

Safe to say that iPhone owners have been jealous of Magic Eraser on the the Google Pixel range, and fortunately Apple is finally fixing this – and it's not just on iOS, but will be within Photos on iPadOS and macOS as well. 

With a new Clean Up feature you'll be able to circle to intelligently remove an object or even a person from the background. Furthermore, search is getting much smarter within the Photos app, making it easier for you to find photos that you care about.

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Apple reveals Apple Intelligence to take on ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini

Apple has unveiled its own spin of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – and it's called Apple Intelligence. As expected, it was unveiled at WWDC 2024 (you can follow all the announcements as they happen at our WWDC 2024 live blog).

Here's everything we know so far about Apple Intelligence, and how it integrates with Siri and other Apple products.

Apple Intelligence will be free for users with iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia – all operating updates announced at WWDC 2024.

This story is breaking. We'll continue to update this article – and check out our WWDC 2024 live blog for all the breaking news

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‘Apple Intelligence’ is reportedly coming to your iPhone in iOS 18 – here’s what to expect

We’ve learned from Tim Cook’s comments and countless reports that Apple is working on AI features for all of its devices and platforms. And we’re almost certain that the technology giant will unveil it during the opening keynote of WWDC 2024

Now, though, we have an idea of how Apple will be branding the AI features – and no, it won’t be artificial intelligence or “Absolutely Incredible,” as Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of Marketing, teased in a post on X (formerly Twitter)

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it will be called “Apple Intelligence,” which certainly has a nice ring to it. It’ll apparently be the central location to opt-in to the new features built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. As predicted, it will likely be all about integrating AI functionality into current apps and services, ones that someone could use daily and provide value. 

As Gurman notes, “the company is less focused on whiz-bang technology — like image and video generation — and instead concentrating on features with broad appeal.”

WWDC 2024

(Image credit: Apple)

These will likely become summarization powers for navigating a crowded inbox or getting the gist of a webpage on the fly. Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy AI or Google’s Gemini feature set, they will extend to summarizing notes, automatically transcribing voice recordings, and even providing a simple digest of notifications.

In Messages, suggested replies should get an upgrade, and Siri will seemingly get the equivalent of a new brain, hopefully making it much more useful. The upgrade could integrate a large-language model to let the virtual assistant control functions and features within apps and multi-step queries. Bloomberg’s latest reporting also notes that Apple will partner with OpenAI and that its tools will be used to power some features.

The report notes that “Apple Intelligence” features will be entirely opt-in and not turned on by default – additionally, they may be labeled as “a beta version.” This hint suggests that Apple plans to improve them over time and potentially add additional features. 

It seems you’ll need a Mac or iPad with an M-Series chip or newer. For the iPhone, it will reportedly be supported on forthcoming models introduced in 2024 as well as the iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max. The A15 Bionic or later will likely be the requirement, but it will be interesting to see if it’s needed for all features or just specific elements. 

Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (2024)

(Image credit: Future)

Like other services, the processing will either be on a device or cloud-based computing; the latter would be a change for Apple, which always focuses on users' privacy and security. To that point, the report notes that WWDC will focus on what “precautions” Apple is taking, such as “security features on the chips that it’s using in its data centers,” and that user profiles based on customer data will not be built.

With either processing route, it’s clear that privacy will be front and center, and Apple will use it to differentiate itself from competitors. It could also help push more folks to actually opt-in to Apple Intelligence, and that, paired with actually useful features that are viewed as helpful, could help to turn the tide here. After all, useful upgrades to applications and tools we use daily can help speed through workflows and make tasks easier.

We’ll have to wait and see what Apple unveils at WWDC 2024’s kickoff and how it positions AI, err, Apple Intelligence. You can see the five things we expect Apple to unveil, including a round-up of all of our news leading up to the kick-off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on June 10 (3am AEST, June 11).

If you’ve been waiting for a Calculator app for iPad, it seems this is the year. VisionOS 2.0 will also bring more environments to Vision Pro, and we'll also apparently get new Mac, iPhone, and iPad wallpapers, a dedicated app for managing passwords, and the ability to create emojis on the fly.

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iOS 18 could be loaded with AI, as Apple reveals 8 new artificial intelligence models that run on-device

Apple has released a set of several new AI models that are designed to run locally on-device rather than in the cloud, possibly paving the way for an AI-powered iOS 18 in the not-too-distant future.

The iPhone giant has been doubling down on AI in recent months, with a carefully split focus across cloud-based and on-device AI. We saw leaks earlier this week indicating that Apple plans to make its own AI server chips, so this reveal of new local large language models (LLMs) demonstrates that the company is committed to both breeds of AI software. I’ll dig into the implications of that further down, but for now, let’s explain exactly what these new models are.

The suite of AI tools contains eight distinct models, called OpenELMs (Open-source Efficient Language Models). As the name suggests, these models are fully open-source and available on the Hugging Face Hub, an online community for AI developers and enthusiasts. Apple also published a whitepaper outlining the new models. Four were pre-trained on CoreNet (previously CVNets), a massive library of data used for training AI language models, while the other four have been ‘instruction-tuned’ by Apple; a process by which an AI model’s learning parameters are carefully honed to respond to specific prompts.

Releasing open-source software is a somewhat unusual move for Apple, which typically retains quite a close grip on its software ecosystem. The company claims to want to “empower and enrich” public AI research by releasing the OpenELMs to the wider AI community.

So what does this actually mean for users?

Apple has been seriously committed to AI recently, which is good to see as the competition is fierce in both the phone and laptop arenas, with stuff like the Google Pixel 8’s AI-powered Tensor chip and Qualcomm’s latest AI chip coming to Surface devices.

By putting its new on-device AI models out to the world like this, Apple is likely hoping that some enterprising developers will help iron out the kinks and ultimately improve the software – something that could prove vital if it plans to implement new local AI tools in future versions of iOS and macOS.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the average Apple device is already packed with AI capabilities, with the Apple Neural Engine found on the company’s A- and M-series chips powering features such as Face ID and Animoji. The upcoming M4 chip for Mac systems also appears to sport new AI-related processing capabilities, something that's swiftly becoming a necessity as more-established professional software implements machine-learning tools (like Firefly in Adobe Photoshop).

In other words, we can probably expect AI to be the hot-button topic for iOS 18 and macOS 15. I just hope it’s used for clever and unique new features, rather than Microsoft’s constant Copilot nagging.

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I created an AI app in 10 minutes and I might never think about artificial intelligence in the same way again

Pretty much anything we can do with AI today might have seemed like magic just a year ago, but MindStudio's platform for creating custom AI apps in a matter of minutes feels like a new level of alchemy.

The six-month-old free platform, which you can find right now under youai.ai, is a visual studio for building AI workflows, assistants, and AI chatbots. In its short lifespan it's already been used, according to CEO Dimitry Shapiro, to build more than 18,000 apps.

Yes, he called them “apps”, and if you're struggling to understand how or why anyone might want to build AI applications, just look at OpenAI's relatively new GPT apps (aka GPTs). These let you lock the powerful GPT-3.5 into topic-based thinking that you can package up, share, and sell. Shapiro, however, noted the limits of OpenAI's approach. 

He likened GPTs to “bookmarking a prompt” within the GPT sphere. MindStudio, on  the other hand, is generative model-agnostic. The system lets you use multiple models within one app.

If adding more model options sounds complicated, I can assure you it's not. MindStudio is the AI development platform for non-developers. 

Watch and learn

MindStudio

Choose your template. (Image credit: MindStudio)

To get you started, the company provides an easy-to-follow 18-minute video tutorial. The system also helps by offering a healthy collection of templates (many of them business-focused), or you can choose a blank template. I followed the guide to recreate the demo AI app (a blog post generator), and my only criticism is that the video is slightly out of date, with some interface elements having been moved or renamed. There are some prompts to note the changes, but the video could still do with a refresh.

Still, I had no trouble creating that first AI blog generator. The key here is that you can get a lot of the work done through a visual interface that lets you add blocks along a workflow and then click on them to customize, add details, and choose which AI model you want to use (the list includes GPT- 3.5 turbo, PaLM 2, Llama 2, and Gemini Pro). While you don't necessarily have to use a particular model for each task in your app, it might be that, for example, you should be using GPT-3.5 for fast chatbots or that PaLM would be better for math; however, MindStudio cannot, at least yet, recommend which model to use and when.

Image 1 of 2

MindStudio

Connect the boxes (Image credit: MindStudio)
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MindStudio

And then edit their contents (Image credit: MindStudio)

The act of adding training data is also simple. I was able to find web pages of information, download the HTML, and upload it to MindStudio (you can upload up to 150 files on a single app). MindStudio uses the information to inform the AI, but will not be cutting and pasting information from any of those pages into your app responses.

Most of MindStudio's clients are in business, and it does hide some more powerful features (embedding on third-party websites) and models (like GPT 4 Turbo) behind a paywall, but anyone can try their hand at building and sharing AI apps (you get a URL for sharing).

Confident in my newly acquired, if limited, knowledge, I set about building an AI app revolving around mobile photography advice. Granted, I used the framework I'd just learned in the AI blog post generator tutorial, but it still went far better than I expected.

One of the nice things about MindStudio is that it allows for as much or as little coding as you're prepared to do. In my case, I had to reference exactly one variable that the model would use to pull the right response.

MindStudio

Options include setting your model’s ‘temperature’ (Image credit: MindStudio)

There are a lot of smart and dead-simple controls that can even teach you something about how models work. MindStudio lets you set, for instance, the 'Temperature' of your model to control the randomness of its responses. The higher the 'temp', the more unique and creative each response. If you like your model verbose, you can drag another slider to set a response size of up to 3,000 characters.

The free service includes unlimited consumer usage and messages, some basic metrics, and the ability to share your AI via a link (as I've done here). Pro users can pay $ 23 a month for the more powerful models like GPT-4, less MindStudio branding, and, among other things, site embedding. The $ 99 a-month tier includes all you get with Pro, but adds the ability to charge for access to your AI app, better analytics, API access, full chat transcripts, and enterprise support.

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MindStudio

Look, may, I made an AI app. (Image credit: MindStudio)
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MindStudio

It’s smarter than I am. (Image credit: MindStudio)

I can imagine small and medium-sized businesses using MindStudio to build customer engagement and content capture on their sites, and even as a tool for guiding users through their services.

Even at the free level, though, I was surprised at the level of customization MindStorm offers. I could add my own custom icons and art, and even build a landing page.

I wouldn't call my little AI app anything special, but the fact that I could take the germ of an idea and turn it into a bespoke chatbot in 10 minutes is surprising even to me. That I get to choose the right model for each job within an AI app is even better; and that this level of fun and utility is free is the icing on the cake.

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