Apple will allow users to opt in to ChatGPT services in iOS 18 after deal with OpenAI

AppleInsider · June 5, 2024 11:37AM

Apple has reportedly agreed a deal with OpenAI that means it will integrate ChatGPT into iOS, in what's claimed to be a temporary arrangement until Apple's own Siri can be improved.

Apple's 2024 iPhone could feature an AI-improved Siri

Backing up previous reports that Apple and OpenAI's Sam Altman have entered into a deal, Bloomberg says that the arrangement will be central to Apple's AI announcements at WWDC on June 10, 2024. It's not believed that Altman will make an appearance, however.

It's claimed that the deal to integrate ChatGPT into iOS is specifically because Apple's own Siri is not yet up to scratch. That's despite many recent reports such as one saying that Siri will see a massive AI upgrade via Apple's own Ajax LLM.

It reportedly won't be mandatory. The report claims that users will have to opt in to using the service, rather than opt out. However, details aren't clear yet.

No specifics of the deal have been revealed as yet, and neither Apple nor OpenAI have confirmed the arrangement. Apple has previously been reported to be in talks to license Google Gemini's AI features for iPhones.

It's not known whether electing to make a deal with OpenAI means that Apple has closed the door on any Google arrangement. It's possible that Apple may launch an AI App Store, which could then include Google Gemini amongst others.

Rumor Score: Likely

Read on AppleInsider

twolf2919 · June 5, 2024 2:09PM

Opt-in would make sense since agreeing to it will likely mean giving up some privacy to ChatGPT servers in the cloud.

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock - it's been rising for the past few months simply on analysts' expectation that Apple will make big announcements regarding AI. I.e. letting the world know that it isn't behind in AI, after all. But if, instead, we find out that they are indeed hopelessly behind - by essentially offering us another company's AI on their devices - the stock will go down, for sure.

And this sounds about right - Apple hasn't managed to improve Siri in 10+ years. There's no reason to believe Apple could inject a massive improvement into it in the 1-2 years that AI has become a hot topic.

tmay · June 5, 2024 2:18PM

twolf2919 said:

Opt-in would make sense since agreeing to it will likely mean giving up some privacy to ChatGPT servers in the cloud.

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock - it's been rising for the past few months simply on analysts' expectation that Apple will make big announcements regarding AI. I.e. letting the world know that it isn't behind in AI, after all. But if, instead, we find out that they are indeed hopelessly behind - by essentially offering us another company's AI on their devices - the stock will go down, for sure.

And this sounds about right - Apple hasn't managed to improve Siri in 10+ years. There's no reason to believe Apple could inject a massive improvement into it in the 1-2 years that AI has become a hot topic.

You seem to discount that fact that Apple has something on the order of 1.45 B iPhone users, and it those users haven't abandoned Apple from the lack of noticeable Siri improvements, then likely, there isn't any impact to Apple from "leading from the back" in AI.

twolf2919 · June 5, 2024 2:41PM

tmay said:

twolf2919 said:

Opt-in would make sense since agreeing to it will likely mean giving up some privacy to ChatGPT servers in the cloud.

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock - it's been rising for the past few months simply on analysts' expectation that Apple will make big announcements regarding AI. I.e. letting the world know that it isn't behind in AI, after all. But if, instead, we find out that they are indeed hopelessly behind - by essentially offering us another company's AI on their devices - the stock will go down, for sure.

And this sounds about right - Apple hasn't managed to improve Siri in 10+ years. There's no reason to believe Apple could inject a massive improvement into it in the 1-2 years that AI has become a hot topic.

You seem to discount that fact that Apple has something on the order of 1.45 B iPhone users, and it those users haven't abandoned Apple from the lack of noticeable Siri improvements, then likely, there isn't any impact to Apple from "leading from the back" in AI. pp

I haven't discounted that. I have no doubt, any existing Apple users - including myself - will appreciate any significant new features Apple bestows on them. But if Apple's great AI announcement turns out to be a partnership with OpenAI, where interactions are sent off-device to ChatGPT servers, it's hard to see how that would lead to some great "super" upgrade cycle as analysts are currently predicting. After all, if all the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, why would you need a new phone? Just install iOS 18 on your existing device and you're ready to go!

On the other hand, if Siri received a real overhaul using AI and finally became a really useful personal assistant - with my privacy kept intact by using an on-device LLM - I'd certainly stand in line for a new phone that has the required power/RAM to do this.

mikethemartian · June 5, 2024 2:57PM

Isn’t OpenAI working on its own phone with Jony Ive?

blastdoor · June 5, 2024 3:12PM

twolf2919 said:

tmay said:

twolf2919 said:

Opt-in would make sense since agreeing to it will likely mean giving up some privacy to ChatGPT servers in the cloud.

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock - it's been rising for the past few months simply on analysts' expectation that Apple will make big announcements regarding AI. I.e. letting the world know that it isn't behind in AI, after all. But if, instead, we find out that they are indeed hopelessly behind - by essentially offering us another company's AI on their devices - the stock will go down, for sure.

And this sounds about right - Apple hasn't managed to improve Siri in 10+ years. There's no reason to believe Apple could inject a massive improvement into it in the 1-2 years that AI has become a hot topic.

You seem to discount that fact that Apple has something on the order of 1.45 B iPhone users, and it those users haven't abandoned Apple from the lack of noticeable Siri improvements, then likely, there isn't any impact to Apple from "leading from the back" in AI. pp

I haven't discounted that. I have no doubt, any existing Apple users - including myself - will appreciate any significant new features Apple bestows on them. But if Apple's great AI announcement turns out to be a partnership with OpenAI, where interactions are sent off-device to ChatGPT servers, it's hard to see how that would lead to some great "super" upgrade cycle as analysts are currently predicting. After all, if all the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, why would you need a new phone? Just install iOS 18 on your existing device and you're ready to go!

On the other hand, if Siri received a real overhaul using AI and finally became a really useful personal assistant - with my privacy kept intact by using an on-device LLM - I'd certainly stand in line for a new phone that has the required power/RAM to do this.

People don’t care how/why the feature is there, only that it is there. The how/why is interesting to nerds, but not to normals. Mac sales went up when Apple switched to Intel because switching to Intel made the Mac better — people didn’t care that Apple was abandoning a processor they helped develop for the dreaded x86.

It’s true that if all new features can be accessed from existing phones then there is little reason to upgrade BUT working with OpenAI doesn’t mean that’s the case. There will likely be many features that require, or work better on, a new iPhone.

Note that Microsoft heavily uses OpenAI but still requires a beefy NPU for a new PC to meet their new AI branding requirements. They aren’t just doing that to help out the chip guys.

blastdoor · June 5, 2024 3:17PM

twolf2919 said:

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock

Me too, but for a different reason. Apple’s dependence on China makes them highly vulnerable.

I won’t short AAPL but I won’t go long either — at least not unless the China risk is more substantially mitigated.

danox · June 5, 2024 4:41PM

twolf2919 said:

Opt-in would make sense since agreeing to it will likely mean giving up some privacy to ChatGPT servers in the cloud.

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock - it's been rising for the past few months simply on analysts' expectation that Apple will make big announcements regarding AI. I.e. letting the world know that it isn't behind in AI, after all. But if, instead, we find out that they are indeed hopelessly behind - by essentially offering us another company's AI on their devices - the stock will go down, for sure.

And this sounds about right - Apple hasn't managed to improve Siri in 10+ years. There's no reason to believe Apple could inject a massive improvement into it in the 1-2 years that AI has become a hot topic.

The only thing that counts are useful AI solutions that the public can use AI Hype and parlor tricks won't last, go ahead and short Apple, Apple is the only tech company with the total package desktop and mobile OS with best in class edge hardware that actually run on the edge now, how long do you think the public will tolerate phoning home?

danox · June 5, 2024 4:52PM

blastdoor said:

twolf2919 said:

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock

Me too, but for a different reason. Apple’s dependence on China makes them highly vulnerable.

I won’t short AAPL but I won’t go long either — at least not unless the China risk is more substantially mitigated.

Everyone depends on China for EV batteries, High Speed Rail (if you want it built on time see Indonesia), Solar panels, Computers, Phones, and soon Thorium Reactors by way of Oak Ridge, Tennessee etc..... and it will take years to change that the usual press conference and a announcement by temporary western politician isn't enough.

This all China needs to do is just wait the EU, DOJ, the US Congress, the Orange one, Elon, Supreme Court, and the US President are helping. “Never interrupt your enemy when he (many) is making a mistake” ― Sun Tzu, ― The Art of War

https://medium.com/@jarone/art-of-war-quotes-the-ultimate-list-1341568dc387

edited June 2024

danvm · June 5, 2024 5:54PM

danox said:

twolf2919 said:

Opt-in would make sense since agreeing to it will likely mean giving up some privacy to ChatGPT servers in the cloud.

If I had guts, I'd short AAPL stock - it's been rising for the past few months simply on analysts' expectation that Apple will make big announcements regarding AI. I.e. letting the world know that it isn't behind in AI, after all. But if, instead, we find out that they are indeed hopelessly behind - by essentially offering us another company's AI on their devices - the stock will go down, for sure.

And this sounds about right - Apple hasn't managed to improve Siri in 10+ years. There's no reason to believe Apple could inject a massive improvement into it in the 1-2 years that AI has become a hot topic.

The only thing that counts are useful AI solutions that the public can use AI Hype and parlor tricks won't last, go ahead and short Apple, Apple is the only tech company with the total package desktop and mobile OS with best in class edge hardware that actually run on the edge now, how long do you think the public will tolerate phoning home?

Apple is missing in their package the infrastructure and datacenters companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon have. That's the reason they will depend on OpenAI LLM. Also, people have been "phoning home" for years. For example, ChatGPT still very popular, and don't see people having issues "phoning" OpenAI. Why do you think this will change?

jakeb · June 5, 2024 7:00PM

Opt in sounds like subscription. Maybe it’s an integrated ChatGPT Pro subscription that runs through Siri

avon b7 · June 5, 2024 7:47PM

jakeb said:

Opt in sounds like subscription. Maybe it’s an integrated ChatGPT Pro subscription that runs through Siri

That's definitely one of the big questions. Some kind of monetisation effort seems reasonable as that is the path others have chosen and Apple is slowly trying to shift to evermore services offerings.

I'd say maybe a 'free' period followed a subscription.

twolf2919 · June 6, 2024 1:07PM

blastdoor said:

I haven't discounted that. I have no doubt, any existing Apple users - including myself - will appreciate any significant new features Apple bestows on them. But if Apple's great AI announcement turns out to be a partnership with OpenAI, where interactions are sent off-device to ChatGPT servers, it's hard to see how that would lead to some great "super" upgrade cycle as analysts are currently predicting. After all, if all the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, why would you need a new phone? Just install iOS 18 on your existing device and you're ready to go!

On the other hand, if Siri received a real overhaul using AI and finally became a really useful personal assistant - with my privacy kept intact by using an on-device LLM - I'd certainly stand in line for a new phone that has the required power/RAM to do this.

People don’t care how/why the feature is there, only that it is there. The how/why is interesting to nerds, but not to normals. Mac sales went up when Apple switched to Intel because switching to Intel made the Mac better — people didn’t care that Apple was abandoning a processor they helped develop for the dreaded x86.

It’s true that if all new features can be accessed from existing phones then there is little reason to upgrade BUT working with OpenAI doesn’t mean that’s the case. There will likely be many features that require, or work better on, a new iPhone.

Note that Microsoft heavily uses OpenAI but still requires a beefy NPU for a new PC to meet their new AI branding requirements. They aren’t just doing that to help out the chip guys.

Exactly - except that iPhones, unlike most PCs, have already been including the Neural Engine - aka NPU - for the last 7 years. So other than Siri, it's not clear to me what other *user visible* AIfeatures Apple could be adding that couldn't already be done with NPUs of the last couple years. I guess we'll have to wait.

gatorguy · June 6, 2024 1:51PM

twolf2919 said:

blastdoor said:

I haven't discounted that. I have no doubt, any existing Apple users - including myself - will appreciate any significant new features Apple bestows on them. But if Apple's great AI announcement turns out to be a partnership with OpenAI, where interactions are sent off-device to ChatGPT servers, it's hard to see how that would lead to some great "super" upgrade cycle as analysts are currently predicting. After all, if all the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, why would you need a new phone? Just install iOS 18 on your existing device and you're ready to go!

On the other hand, if Siri received a real overhaul using AI and finally became a really useful personal assistant - with my privacy kept intact by using an on-device LLM - I'd certainly stand in line for a new phone that has the required power/RAM to do this.

People don’t care how/why the feature is there, only that it is there. The how/why is interesting to nerds, but not to normals. Mac sales went up when Apple switched to Intel because switching to Intel made the Mac better — people didn’t care that Apple was abandoning a processor they helped develop for the dreaded x86.

It’s true that if all new features can be accessed from existing phones then there is little reason to upgrade BUT working with OpenAI doesn’t mean that’s the case. There will likely be many features that require, or work better on, a new iPhone.

Note that Microsoft heavily uses OpenAI but still requires a beefy NPU for a new PC to meet their new AI branding requirements. They aren’t just doing that to help out the chip guys.

Exactly - except that iPhones, unlike most PCs, have already been including the Neural Engine - aka NPU - for the last 7 years. So other than Siri, it's not clear to me what other *user visible* AIfeatures Apple could be adding that couldn't already be done with NPUs of the last couple years. I guess we'll have to wait.

Google's Tensor TPU performs essentially the same tasks on their phones as Apple's Neural Engine NPU on iPhones. Neither is (yet) capable of running compute-intensive AI tasks on device. They can of course be tweaked to match up better with certain features, which Google has, but that won't mean backward-compatibility.

Rumor has it that new Apple AI features can only be accomplished with this year's iPhone Pro and perhaps all versions of the iPhone 16. Everyone will know soon enough if that pans out. If true, "processors not powerful enough" will be the claim. Personally, I'll be blaming it more on accountants and marketing.

Anyone curious about the difference between an NPU like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei (among others) use and a TPU as used on Pixel Phones can read about it here. Each has its strengths.
https://medium.com/@craigadebanji46/npu-vs-tpu-the-future-of-ai-hardware-explained-c532c12913fd#:~:text

edited June 2024

gatorguy · June 6, 2024 10:05PM

Re: OpenAI, Microsoft, NVidia and AI

Federal regulators have reached a deal that allows them to proceed with antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the artificial intelligence industry, in the strongest sign of how regulatory scrutiny into the powerful technology has escalated...

Under the arrangement, the Justice Department will take the lead in investigating whether the behavior of Nvidia, the biggest maker of A.I. chips, has violated antitrust laws, the people said. The F.T.C. will play the lead role in examining the conduct of OpenAI, which makes the ChatGPT chatbot, and Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI and made deals with other A.I. companies, the people said.

Apple will allow users to opt in to ChatGPT services in iOS 18 after deal with OpenAI

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