Artificial Intelligence is coming to Apple. Not as a flashy new product or one-off feature release, but seamlessly woven into the fabric of every device over the next few years. With Apple's prowess in creating both best-in-class hardware and intuitive software experiences, they are uniquely positioned to take AI mainstream by delivering its capabilities directly into the hands, homes, and lives of everyday people.
We got a glimpse into Apple's AI ambitions at their latest worldwide conference. The innovation that had the audience buzzing? Their new Neural Engine, a chip designed specifically for complex AI processes like facial recognition, language processing, and location recommendations. Apple is already using it to power the iPhone X’s next-generation camera capabilities. However this custom silicon foreshadows far broader AI integration across Apple’s product lines.
The Neural Engine indicates that Apple is committed to leading the AI revolution while respecting user privacy and security. Building dedicated AI hardware into devices allows computationally-intensive tasks to happen on your iPhone or Mac rather than servers in the cloud. So your personal data stays under your control. And there are major speed and responsiveness advantages to avoiding round-trips to the internet for complex processing.
So how might Apple evolve products you already love with their special blend of AI? Expect to see vastly improved voice interfaces powered by more responsive on-device machine learning models. Awesome camera tricks like real-time video filters, scene analysis for capturing better photos, and augmented reality experiences that interact with your environment. Painless organization of all your photos and videos using face and object recognition. Seamlessly syncing notes, documents, reminders, calendar events and more between devices based on learning your patterns over time. And much more personalized, relevant recommendations regardless of which Apple device you pick up throughout your day.
This is no longer AI that will simply impress tech enthusiasts. These are ideas that appeal to just about anyone seeking easier, richer interactions with their technology. And Apple is committed to responsibly guiding consumers into this AI-centric world rather than throwing them into the deep end of complexity. They have a unique vision for delivering the promise of AI in a way that augments people’s lives without overtaking them.
So while competitors either lack Apple’s innovative chops or prefer a data harvesting approach to AI, Apple is positioning themselves to help pioneer the next era of interactive and intelligent consumer experiences.The best of Apple software and hardware is yet to come. And AI will be at the very core of it. The future is almost here - thanks to Apple, it’s sure to be an intelligent one!