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‘iOS 18 will be biggest update ever, full of AI functionality’

‘iOS 18 will be biggest update ever, full of AI functionality’

The rumor mill surrounding iOS 18 is running at full pelt. The upcoming release of the Apple operating system is likely to get a large number of built-in AI features.

According to 9to5Mac, iOS 18 will be the biggest update since the OS’ introduction in 2007 (then called iPhone OS). The most important new features in this regard will be AI features. The latter was already evident from signals from the latest version, iOS 17.4.

Additional speculation was also recently sparked by Apple CEO Tim Cook in a recent earnings call about financial Q1 2024 results. Tim Cook states in this call that he is fully engaged in AI and will make an announcement about it this year.

Proprietary AI framework Ajax

Further research shows that AI for the mobile OS is going to become increasingly important. For example, Apple has been working on an AI model called “AppleGPT” for some time.

This project is being developed based on the ‘Ajax’ AI framework. Apple has reportedly been working on this AI framework since 2022 and should provide a common basis for various ML projects. Naturally, this also applies to all AI features that will soon become available in iOS.

Various possible new AI features

AI features that may be presented in iOS 18, or perhaps later in iOS 19, include a new version of Siri. This revamped AI assistant is set to become more intelligent than in the current version and be LLM-based, following in the footsteps of chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard.

Furthermore, Apple Music will get new AI features such as automatic playlist generation, AI integration into the Pages, Keynote and Numbers productivity tools and AI features for Xcode.

Other AI integrations may be in the pipeline for an updated and improved version of Spotlight Search, an AI-supported wellness coaching feature in Apple Health and Apple Watch, and new functionality for the Messages applications. In the latter case, examples include automatic message composition, the answering of questions and the summarizing of incoming messages.

iOS 18 is expected to be announced during WWDC 2024 in mid-June 2024. The first public beta should then see the light of day in July of this year.

Also read: Apple shows how LLMs can be run on smartphones