Experts Comment On Apple Intelligence: What Happens To The AI Industry?

This autumn, Apple plans to switch up how we have device interactions with a new feature suite called Apple Intelligence. Embedded in the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, these tools help streamline writing, organising, and minimising distractions.

The Writing Tools feature, for example, helps send perfect messages and emails, with language in mind that depends on each context.

Thomas Jefferson, Product Manager at Apple, shared: “Our goal with Apple Intelligence is to simplify daily tasks while protecting privacy. Whether composing an email or summarising content, we want this technology to act as a natural extension of the user.”
 

How Does It Improve Daily Communications?

 
Apple Intelligence, above writing, helps with communication as a whole. The best features are:

• Proofreading and rewriting to adjust tone and wording to your needs.
• Summarisation tools that condense information swiftly.
• Prioritised notifications and emails that bring important matters to your immediate attention.
• New tools like the Image Wand in Notes transform sketches into detailed images, so there’s a space for better creative and note-taking processes.

 

What Makes This Different?

 
Apart from helping with productivity, Apple Intelligence now brings new ways to interact with devices:

• Recording and transcription in Notes and Phone apps summarise conversations.
• Smart Reply in Mail crafts responses based on email content.
• Focus settings learn the context of notifications, filtering what’s immediately relevant.

Jefferson added, “These tools are designed to improve efficiency and offer more intuitive interactions with devices, focusing on reducing effort and maximising user satisfaction.”

All in all, Apple Intelligence is designed in a way that is meant to serve as a personal assistant that understands and anticipates user needs while upholding stringent privacy standards.

And now, we get into what Apple Intelligence means for the AI industry, and the tech industry as a whole…
 

Our Experts

 

• Michael Covington, VP of Strategy, Jamf, Apple Specialist
• Greg Hanson, GVP, EMEA North, Informatica
• Dr Seun Kolade, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation, Sheffield Business School
• Maani Safa, CEO and Founder, Poppins
• Laura Lane, Head of Marketing UK&I, HubSpot
• Richard Godfrey, CEO and founder, Rocketmakers
• Erik Schwartz, Chief AI Officer, Tricon Infotech
• Gregor Hofer, Co-Founder and CEO, Speech Graphics and Rapport
• Asgar Dungarwalla, Director, GiftsOnline4U
• John Cunningham, CTO, Valtech

 

Michael Covington, VP of Strategy, Jamf, Apple Specialist

 

 

“Apple has established a reputation for prioritising features that safeguard user privacy and enhance device security.

“It is exciting to see that commitment carry through to the newly unveiled “Apple Intelligence” capabilities, given how tightly they have been integrated across operating systems and apps.

“Apple seems to have struck a thoughtful balance between privacy, performance, and feature richness by building Apple Intelligence to utilise on-device processing, while also providing options to augment with cloud-based resources as needed.

“Like many previous Apple features, users are empowered to take control of their data. And the integrations between Apple Intelligence and OpenAI are a great example of where clear notifications and user control are likely to enhance the end user experience and encourage broader adoption of these innovative and productivity-enhancing offerings.

“For an initial release, the breadth of Apple Intelligence is impressive. And the benefits it will deliver to the overall Apple experience are already becoming clear. We are likely seeing a new standard emerge for how privacy controls and security safeguards can be achieved with integrated AI.”
 

Greg Hanson, GVP, EMEA North, Informatica

 

 

“With the launch of Apple Intelligence, powerful Gen AI capabilities will be placed in the hands of consumers. It’s set to change the way that users discover and consume data through simple conversational interactions.

“But it’s important to remember that these are still the early green shoots of Gen AI. A lot still needs to be ironed out- users need to be educated on how to best ask questions that generate valuable answers and will want greater transparency about how their personal data will be used to feed and power AI models.

“Ultimately, there are no shortcuts in AI development. Consumers and regulators will demand transparency, interpretability and ‘explainability’ from AI systems. And developing an application that lives up to the promise of its name, will require holistic, high-quality and well governed data foundations with adequate data access management and privacy controls baked-in.”
 

Dr Seun Kolade, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation, Sheffield Business School

 

 
“Apple Intelligence, the new iteration of the company’s continued investment in AI and machine learning, raises the bar for industry competitors who must now innovate or risk falling behind in a fast-paced AI race. Apple is able to take a significant leap forward in its competitive advantage by integrating AI across its entire product ecosystem for better and more exciting user experience with enhanced AI-driven features like predictive texts, health monitoring, and personalised recommendations, among others. This will strengthen Apple’s customer retention strategy, as well as attract new users.

“One important source of competitive advantage for Apple is privacy and security, considering that most AI companies and products rely heavily on cloud processing which makes potential users more vulnerable to data breaches. With the new AI integration, Apple offers on-device AI processing, thereby challenging the status quo and redefining industry standards on data security.

“In doing so, Apple leverages its powerful custom-designed chips, which already feature advanced neural engines specifically designed for AI tasks. In effect, Apple’s on-device AI processing is a prime example of incrementally radical innovation, combining enhancements of existing technologies with new, significant advancements that, in combination, create substantial leaps in functionality and user experience. This development injects a new pace into an AI race that should be ultimately beneficial for the user.”
 

Maani Safa, CEO and Founder, Poppins

 

 

“Although Apple has historically struggled with software partnerships (like TomTom and Maps), strategically, partnering with OpenAI makes sense. However, the bigger question is whether Apple will allow this to work the way OpenAI wants it to.

“Is it a stopgap until Apple has its own stable offering? Probably, given how many AI businesses Apple has acquired over the last 18 months. Interestingly, it seems roles have reversed: Google is going full in-house with Gemini and Tensor, while Apple is looking to partner. This is a race we haven’t seen before, with Apple perhaps on the backfoot.

“We’re used to seeing Apple lead from the front, but arguably the company’s ‘big swings’ don’t really have the same effect as they once did. The partnership with OpenAI instead enhances areas where they have previously struggled, like Siri, keeping users in the ecosystem.

“Apple has certainly made it very simple and easy to use and it’s fantastic to see it integrated seamlessly across all of its products. Having said that, instead of leading, this feels like it could be Apple’s attempt to keep pace, but with a user base of over 2 billion devices, it would be foolish to count it out when it comes to AI.”
 

 

Laura Lane, Head of Marketing UK&I, HubSpot

 

 

“Apple Intelligence’s deeper, more intuitive AI integration through Siri allows for a personalised user experience that can interpret and act on nuanced user prompts. For instance, a retail brand that feeds into Apple Intelligence could potentially allow users to leverage Siri to discover their products.

“For marketers, this means rethinking how to engage consumers who now have a more direct and conversational path to obtaining information and making purchases, bypassing traditional search and navigation methods.

“Although Apple’s decision to forego the introduction of an anticipated ad blocker in its latest update introduces a temporary reprieve, Marketers should not grow complacent. The landscape is shifting towards giving users more control over their digital environment, which will likely include more refined ad-blocking capabilities in the future.

“Marketers must now innovate within frameworks of AI, leveraging it to create marketing strategies that are not only effective but also welcomed by users in their everyday digital interactions.”
 

Richard Godfrey, CEO and Founder, Rocketmakers

 

 

“I think this announcement is generally good news and should be viewed as a positive step for the tech industry. We all know that Apple’s technology is proprietary to your local environment i.e. your phone or device, therefore it is likely to keep data more secure as you are not uploading potentially sensitive PII data to the cloud. AI holds immense promise, but one of the issues surrounding adoption is about data privacy and ethics.

“There is also concern that with AI you could end up incurring runaway costs, especially in the cloud. As AI tools and services see adoption growth, the costs of running those operations must be borne somewhere, likely with the provider. In order to train the models on which these systems run, there are costs, including paying to access data and the power needed to produce updated LLMs.

“With Apple Intelligence again this is all local to the device and therefore not consuming huge amounts of cloud computing power that these deep learning models need, which means it is potentially more energy efficient.

“In terms of what this means for the tech industry in general, as Apple Intelligence is part of the fabric of the device and ‘just there and available’ in the same way that Siri is, this will raise general end user awareness and mainstream adoption of the opportunities that AI creates.

“These technologies are not about creating a futuristic world; they’re about enhancing our current world, making us all more productive. When wielded correctly, AI makes businesses more efficient, drives better decision-making and creates more personalised experiences for users and customers”.
 

Erik Schwartz, Chief AI Officer, Tricon Infotech

 

 

“Apple’s WWDC event brought significant announcements about their new AI-driven initiative, Apple Intelligence. While Apple is often seen as a pioneer in many technological arenas, their entry into the AI space appears notably delayed compared to competitors like Google and Microsoft. The initial impression suggests that Apple’s AI investments lag behind leading technologies in terms of innovation and capability.

“However, despite being late to the AI game, Apple is positioning itself uniquely with a highly integrated, agentic consumer assistant. This development promises to revolutionise how users interact with their devices by making all apps on the iPhone interoperable without the need for manual processes like cutting and pasting. Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, will leverage context from any app to execute tasks, vastly enhancing its utility and user experience.

“One of the standout features is Siri’s ability to pull context from various apps, enabling seamless task completion. This integration is designed to work even when the solution lies outside the device, by tapping into Apple’s private cloud or even directly into ChatGPT, giving users access to advanced AI capabilities and their paid services natively within their phones.

“Despite criticisms, such as those from Elon Musk who questions Apple’s capability and commitment to user privacy in partnership with OpenAI, Apple emphasises its privacy-first approach. Apple Intelligence aims to process data on-device wherever possible and only reach out to cloud services when absolutely necessary, thus maintaining user privacy and security.

“Furthermore, Andrej Karpathy’s positive outlook highlights the layered approach Apple is taking, integrating AI deeply into the OS to provide a multimodal, frictionless, and highly contextual user experience. This integration aims to anticipate user needs and take initiative, offering suggestions and actions without requiring explicit prompts.

“The collaboration with OpenAI marks a strategic move, indicating Apple’s recognition of leveraging established AI leaders to fill gaps and accelerate their AI capabilities. This partnership promises users access to the latest AI models, including GPT-4o, within their native Apple ecosystem, enhancing the overall user experience with state-of-the-art AI technology.

“In conclusion, while Apple’s foray into AI may have come later than expected, the depth of integration and the focus on user privacy set it apart. By creating a truly agentic assistant and ensuring interoperability across apps, Apple is not just catching up but potentially setting a new standard in the consumer AI space.

“As these features roll out, they will likely redefine how users interact with their devices, making everyday tasks more intuitive and efficient. The future of AI on Apple devices looks promising, albeit with much anticipation and scrutiny from the tech community.”
 

Gregor Hofer, Co-Founder and CEO, Speech Graphics and Rapport

 

 

“Apple is the latest to make the bold move to partner with OpenAI. This is a seismic shift that will echo throughout the entire AI landscape. This collaboration between one of the world’s most valuable companies and a pioneering AI research company signals that we are entering a new era of mainstream AI adoption and integration in consumer technology.

“It raises the stakes for every tech company operating in this space and will likely spur increased investment and competition as others race to keep up.”

“There’s no doubt that this partnership solidifies Apple’s position at the spearhead of the AI boom in consumer tech. By joining forces with OpenAI’s cutting-edge research, Apple gains an advantage in developing advanced AI capabilities that could be seamlessly integrated into its products and services.

“However, the race is far from over. This development will undoubtedly motivate other tech giants to step up on their own AI efforts, leading to more rapid innovation across the board. It’s an exciting time.”

“As AI capabilities become more tightly woven into the Apple devices and apps we use every day, it will fundamentally reshape how we interact with technology as consumers. Consumers will come to expect a level of intelligence, personalisation, interactivity and seamless assistance that was unimaginable just a few years ago.

“This partnership has the potential to bring AI into the mainstream in a way we haven’t seen before, driving consumer demand and setting a new standard for what people will come to expect from their technology experiences.”

“Finally, As AI grows more sophisticated and empathetic, we must be thorough in addressing the ethical implications and potential risks. Issues around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the societal impact of automating tasks must be carefully navigated.

“Apple now has an opportunity to lead by example, embedding robust ethical principles and transparency into their AI systems from the ground up. Responsible use of this technology will be crucial as we enter this new age of consumer technology capabilities.”
 

Asgar Dungarwalla, Director, GiftsOnline4U

 

 

“Apple’s announcements at WWDC 2024 underscore a strategic and deliberate approach to AI, prioritising user privacy and practical applications over flashy generative AI models.

“This reinforces Apple’s commitment to on-device processing, ensuring user data remains on their devices and not in the cloud.

“While the lack of a ChatGPT-like product may seem like a missed opportunity, Apple’s focus on enhancing existing features with AI demonstrates a pragmatic approach. By integrating AI into everyday tasks like journaling, autocorrect, and photo editing, Apple aims to make AI accessible and beneficial to the average user.

“The enhancements in iOS 18, such as advanced Siri capabilities and real-time translation, highlight this user-centric philosophy.

“The introduction of Live Voicemail and accessibility features like Live Speech and Personal Voice highlights Apple’s dedication to using AI for social good. These features have the potential to significantly improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.

“Apple’s collaboration with OpenAI on ChatGPT integration in Shortcuts is an interesting move. While it’s not a full partnership, it shows Apple’s willingness to leverage external expertise while maintaining control over its AI ecosystem.

“This approach could resonate with users who are increasingly concerned about data privacy and security. The emphasis on practical, everyday applications of AI ensures that the technology serves to genuinely improve user experience.

“Apple’s doubling down on-device AI could challenge the cloud-based AI models prevalent in the industry. By focusing on user privacy and control, Apple sets a new standard that may push other tech companies to prioritise similar values in their AI development. This could lead to a broader shift in the industry towards more privacy-focused, user-centric AI applications.

“In the broader tech landscape, Apple’s approach could influence the direction of AI development towards more practical, privacy-focused applications that genuinely improve people’s lives. As big tech companies observe Apple’s success with this strategy, they may adopt similar practices, ultimately benefiting consumers by providing safer and more reliable AI-powered services.”
 

John Cunningham, CTO, Valtech

 

 

“With its new AI operating system, Apple has advanced its position of power in the AI sphere. This is all part of a broader trend of Big Tech’s AI dominance, with OpenAI and Apple coming together to accelerate the AI arms race.

“Partnerships between tech giants, as seen by the increase in M&A activity with larger AI companies acquiring smaller ones, have left less players in the race, significantly reducing competition. In this imbalanced market, consultancies can play a crucial role in levelling the playing field for smaller AI players.

“AI development is evolving at such a rapid pace that smaller companies or new entrants are often better equipped to provide the best solution. However, as we’ve seen, companies looking for AI solutions are often inclined to stick with one provider, ultimately putting them into a corner.

“Brands need to lean on technical advice to ensure they are less myopic regarding the AI tools they adopt. The AI landscape needs to be more varied to discontinue Big Tech’s AI monopoly.”