At the WWDC event in June, Apple showcased its AI capabilities, and while these features are eye-catching, the company still has a lot of work to do when competing with industry giants like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Apple was the last company to make a foray into AI, while Google and Samsung have long since begun to integrate the technology into their devices. The high cost of AI computing is mainly due to the demand for highly reliable, high-performance, and high-security computing power. With the rapid development of AI algorithms, more and more model training requires a huge amount of computing power, and the increasing amount of data also requires the evolution of computing power. Therefore, computing power has become a key factor in AI breakthroughs. However, building custom computing solutions requires a large IP portfolio and significant R&D investment, which is a significant financial burden for many chipmakers.
In addition, competitive pressures in the market are also increasing. Large cloud service providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are actively developing their own AI chips to reduce their dependence on external vendors such as Nvidia. This trend has made the market more competitive and has driven chipmakers to innovate to remain competitive.
Against this backdrop, Apple is also facing the challenge of lagging behind its competitors in AI development. A well-known analyst noted that Apple may be two years behind its competitors in AI development and is developing a strategy to roll out the technology to all devices in the next two years.
Figure: Apple GPT developed by Apple
Apple has announced its efforts in artificial intelligence, but it has not yet been fully released to the public. It is understood that Apple plans to launch iOS 18.1 next week to test the Apple Intelligence feature, although this update will not include everything shown at WWDC, and the feature will be updated in multiple times, and it is expected that all will be rolled out before next year. Recently, it was reported that Apple has started integrating ChatGPT with Siri, which is expected to be released later this year.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman mentioned in the latest news that some Apple employees believe that the company is indeed two years behind its competitors in AI development. This time frame is reasonable, as Apple did enter this space later than major players such as Google and Microsoft. However, Apple is at a steady pace in catching up with technology, and Apple Intelligence could be another goal for it to achieve.
Even if Apple needs to outsource its development process or integrate third-party language models, it will eventually catch up with industry standards, Gurman said. He expects that in the next two years, all Apple devices with screens will be equipped with Apple Intelligence. Apple's recently announced iPad mini 7 already has the hardware requirements needed to enable Apple Intelligence, including 8GB of RAM and an A17 Pro chip. The entry-level iPad is expected to be upgraded next year and will come with the same AI features.
Apple's strategy in the AI space includes acquiring several AI startups and creating a ChatGPT-like chatbot service in-house, called "Apple GPT." This shows Apple's efforts in developing products that can rival ChatGPT. However, some analysts do not expect Apple to launch "Apple GPT" next year because progress lags behind its competitors.
In addition, there is news that Apple plans to launch a new iPhone 8 "Air" model with 17GB of RAM next year, designed for Apple Intelligence. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to launch in the spring of 2025, making it the cheapest iPhone with Apple Intelligence. Apparently, Apple is going all-in on artificial intelligence, planning to integrate this technology into all its devices. Do you think Apple will be able to fill the gap in AI development in the past two years?
