Siri in iOS 18 rumored to be ‘more conversational and versatile’ thanks to AI
Siri is set for a major upgrade
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WithApple’sWWDC 2024event and the accompanyingiOS 18reveal fast approaching, speculation is mounting about what kind of AI features Apple might introduce – and a new report gives us a few more major clues.
This report comes from theNew York Times(viaMacRumors), and says that an upgraded version of Siri is going to be central to iOS 18. Efforts to make Siri a more competent competitor toChatGPThave apparently been underway for more than a year.
The new and improved Siri is going to be “more conversational and versatile”, according to the NYT – and it’ll be better at keeping chats going, rather than replying to one question at a time. It’s said that Apple has shifted extra resources to Siri development, which was part of the reasonthe Apple Car was abandoned.
However, the report says Siri won’t compete with the ChatGPTchatbotdirectly: instead, it’ll get better at what it already does, including timers, calendar appointments, and lists. The digital assistant will also be able to summarize text messages (which we’ve heardhints about before).
AI ins and outs
This is the Apple AI strategy:A) On-device LLM (in house)B) Cloud-powered LLM (in house)C) Chatbot (OpenAI for sure, Google maybe). Apple isn’t building its own chatbot but knows the market wants it so it’s going elsewhere for it. It’s the same playbook as search. https://t.co/XQrv57jylYMay 12, 2024
It’s getting a little tricky to pick through all the different AI-related Apple rumors we’re hearing in the run up to theWorldwide Developers Conference. All we know for sure is that Apple is keen on AI, and has somesignificant announcements in store.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, one of the more reliable Apple tipsters, hasposted on social mediaabout how these upgrades will work: Apple is developing its own in-house LLMs (Large Language Models)for local, on-device work, and for cloud processing, Gurman says.
It’ll then integrate a third-party chatbot into its software: either ChatGPT fromOpenAIorGoogleGemini,as we’ve already heard. Gurman says “it’s the same playbook as search” – so while Siri can search the web, Apple has a partnership with Google for doing the actual searching work. Expect something similar with AI.
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There’s quite a bit of overlap there, because if Apple is developing its own LLMs, it doesn’t necessarily need extra help from OpenAI or Google – so it’s not exactly certain where one service will start and another will end. Hopefully all will become clear at WWDC 2024, which gets underwayon June 10.
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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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