AI: Update on Apple AI device rollouts. RTZ #411

...slow and steady calendar for Apple AI Siri, Watches and Airpods

Good things come to those who wait, it’s said. Especially when it comes to Apple this AI Tech Wave.

It looks like the much anticipated Apple AI upgrades to Siri I’ve written about, burnished with the latest Generative AI driven ‘Apple Intelligence’, won’t arrive until next year. It’s something over two billion plus mainstream Apple device users worldwide, using Siri for over 1.5 billion queries a day, will have to wait a bit longer for the locally computed and delivered LLM AI driven features. Including the Siri with OpenAI driven AI features expected soon.

As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports:

“Apple’s big Siri upgrade should arrive next spring. Siri’s new capabilities are bound to be a highlight of the Apple Intelligence rollout. For the first time, the digital assistant will have precise control over actions inside of Apple’s apps. That means you can ask Siri to, say, edit a photo and then ship it off to a friend. It also will have the ability to understand what you’re looking at on your display, helping Siri determine what you want to do based on the context. But neither of those upgrades will be ready when Apple Intelligence launches this fall, as I’ve previously reported.”

“Instead, I’m told, Siri features are likely to go into beta testing for developers in January and then debut publicly around the springtime — part of an iOS 18.4 upgrade that’s already in the works. Other Siri features, such as a new design and ChatGPT integration, will be coming later this year. As I wrote last week, Apple Intelligence also will be coming to the Vision Pro, but not until next year. Anyone looking to use the features on Apple’s home devices, meanwhile, is out of luck. They’ll have to wait until the company introduces its AI-powered table-top robot, something I’ve been reporting on for several months.”

Apple’s versions of AI, dubbed ‘Apple Intelligence’, will also take time to be rolled out on Apple devices like the next generation of Apple Watch, and it’s multi-billion unit AirPods wearable franchise. It’s also an area I’ve discussed in some detail, especially on the healthcare front. Again, from Bloomberg:

“Now the Apple Watch is nearing its 10th birthday, and the company has a chance to mark the occasion. This fall, Apple is planning some notable changes to its original smartwatch line — the “Series” models — including larger displays. The device also will be thinner, though the design itself is unlikely to look much different.”

”But if you’re hoping for the device to run Apple Intelligence — the upcoming suite of AI features — you should reset your expectations. For now, that service is only headed to the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Later, it will come to the Vision Pro, but there are no plans to bring the full initiative to the watch.”

On the AirPods:

“Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods are back in the news. In February, I reported that Apple is working on souped-up AirPods with built-in cameras. The idea behind this engineering project — codenamed B798 — is that cameras could work with artificial intelligence to provide contextual information to the wearer. For instance, the AirPods could see the neighborhood around users and help them navigate.”

“The technology could also be used to identify objects and provide information about them — a key selling point for augmented reality devices. At the time, I reported that these supercharged earbuds wouldn’t arrive until 2026 at the earliest. My understanding is that the technology could wind up in the AirPods Pro two generations from now.”

I highlight these details because as I’ve mentioned before, the process of building the latest AI technologies and innovations into next generation ‘AI enhanced’ devices, generally takes longer than mainstream users would like, and anticipate. And in this case, Apple as the leading purveyor of integrated hardware/software devices is going to take a year or more to roll out these AI features.

And while their competitors like Google, Samsung, Meta and others may roll out some AI enhanced devices earlier, doing so at Scale, and well integrated into the software apps, services and developer ecosystem AT SCALE, generally takes longer than one might anticipate.

And doing so with Apple attention to user Trust, Safety and Privacy, a topic I’ve also discussed at length, takes even longer. Apple remains the best positioned to do all of these together at mainstream scale, but for now, slow and steady will rule the day this AI Tech Wave. Stay tuned.

(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)