Apple's New AI Feature, Apple Intelligence: Available on iPhone 15 Pro and Above

Cupertino, California United States of America
Apple has released new features iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay Screen Sharing with iOS 18.
Apple Intelligence, a new AI model for on-device processing, is only available on iPhone 15 Pro and above.
Apple Intelligence offers features like email rewriting and notification triage, runs on device for data protection, and has access to all contacts, texts and calendars.
Apple's late entry into the AI market but partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT added $300 billion to its market capitalization.
Apple's New AI Feature, Apple Intelligence: Available on iPhone 15 Pro and Above

Apple, the tech giant known for its innovative products, has recently confirmed the release of two new features in its upcoming iOS 18 software. The first feature is iPhone Mirroring, which allows users to use their iPhone as an extension of their Mac. The second feature is SharePlay Screen Sharing, enabling users to draw on their friend's device screen and request permission to remote-control it (Forbes, 2024). However, not all iPhones will support these features equally. Apple Intelligence, a new advanced AI model for on-device processing, will only be available on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and devices with Apple M1 or more recent chips (9to5mac, 2024).

Apple's decision to limit the availability of Apple Intelligence to newer iPhones is due to insufficient chip power in older models. The on-device models for this AI are different from those in the cloud, and older iPhones may use Private Cloud Compute for some tasks but not all (9to5mac, 2024).

Apple's late entry into the AI market has been a topic of criticism. Despite falling behind competitors like Google and Microsoft, Apple added over $300 billion to its market capitalization after announcing its new Apple Intelligence software and partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT (The Washington Post, 2024).

Apple's ability to borrow and improve on others' ideas has been a significant factor in its success throughout history. From the mouse and graphical user interface of the Macintosh to the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Spotify integration, Apple Music, and even its smartwatch (The Washington Post, 2024), Apple has consistently adapted and innovated based on existing technologies.

Apple Intelligence is described as a 'new personal intelligence system' offering features like email rewriting and notification triage. Users can outsource tasks requiring more power to ChatGPT via a corporate licensing deal with OpenAI (The New Yorker, 2024). Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, sees the tool as a 'secondary, semi-autonomous brain.' The A.I. model runs on the device itself to protect users' data (The New Yorker, 2024).

Apple's integration of AI into daily life has been compared to the iPhone's impact on contacting friends, navigating places, sending work emails, and making payments (The New Yorker, 2024). Apple Intelligence applications include rewriting emails, summarizing group texts, and triaging notifications. The A.I. agent has access to all of your contacts, texts and calendars (The New Yorker, 2024).

Despite the potential benefits of AI integration into personal life, there are concerns about misunderstandings or 'hallucinations,' personal data protection, random mistakes or accidents, and reply-all disasters (The New Yorker, 2024). Apple's walled-garden approach to personal technology has been a point of contention for some users who desire more customization beyond surface-level choices like phone casing color or operating system graphic interface (The New Yorker, 2024).

Apple's new OS update allows users to change their phone home screen aesthetic, offering a friendlier and almost personified approach to smartphones (The New Yorker, 2024).



Confidence

91%

Doubts
  • Are there any potential privacy concerns with the A.I. agent having access to all contacts, texts and calendars?
  • Is Apple Intelligence truly a 'secondary, semi-autonomous brain' as described by Tim Cook?

Sources

97%

  • Unique Points
    • Apple confirmed the release date for the next developer beta of iPhone software, iOS 18, which is on June 24, 2023.
    • iPhone Mirroring is a new feature coming in iOS 18 that allows users to use their iPhone on a Mac as if it were in their hand.
    • SharePlay Screen Sharing is another new feature coming in iOS 18 that allows users to draw on their friend’s device screen and request permission to remote-control it.
    • Apple Intelligence, a new feature in iOS 18, will only be available on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and devices with Apple M1 or more recent chips.
  • Accuracy
    • Apple Intelligence will only be available on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and devices with Apple M1 or more recent chips. Older iPhones do not have enough memory to run it.
    • Apple Intelligence won't be available on older iPhones due to insufficient chip power.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (95%)
    The author expresses bias towards older iPhones and their inability to support new features due to insufficient memory. This is evident when he states 'It's almost entirely about memory.' and 'Every version of the 15 lineup will support the AI features.' The author also implies that Apple made a deliberate decision to exclude older models from supporting these new features, which could be seen as monetary bias.
    • Every version of the 16 lineup will support the AI features.
      • It may come down to how Apple chose which processors to put in its latest models.
        • The usual route for Apple, as pointed out by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter is that Apple’s latest features work on ‘a wide range of existing hardware.’ But only two current iPhones will handle Apple Intelligence.
        • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication
        • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication

        80%

        • Unique Points
          • Apple announced its new Apple Intelligence software and plan to connect users with OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot
          • Apple has been criticized for being late to the AI market
          • Despite falling behind competitors, Apple added over $300 billion to its market capitalization after the announcement
          • Apple's ability to borrow and improve on others’ ideas is a key part of its success history
        • Accuracy
          • Apple has been secretive about its AI developments and has yet to demonstrate a ‘killer app'
          • Apple directs technology to its devices and sometimes blocks competitors from them
        • Deception (30%)
          The article contains editorializing and pontification by the author. The author expresses skepticism towards Apple's new AI offerings but then goes on to praise Apple's history of 'borrowing and improving' ideas from others. This is an opinionated statement that goes beyond reporting the facts.
          • Apple has been notably short on and defensive about its AI chops for going on a decade now.
          • Apple's critics still went gaga over the company's news.
          • The last of these surely would have made Steve Jobs turn in his proverbial grave, given his well-known disdain for the PC software maker against whom he competed for so long.
        • Fallacies (85%)
          The author commits the fallacy of Appeal to Past Successes when he states 'Apple has done an outstanding job over the years of telling customers the story of its constant innovation. But the firm's true genius is its ability to borrow and then improve what others had started.' This statement implies that because Apple has successfully borrowed and improved upon ideas in the past, it will be successful in doing so with AI. However, this does not guarantee success in this specific instance.
          • ] Apple has done an outstanding job over the years of telling customers the story of its constant innovation. But the firm's true genius is its ability to borrow and then improve what others had started.[
          • Apple plans merely to refer users to OpenAI, but in a way that shields their data from the start-up. It's a shocking acknowledgment that Apple doesn’t have technology to match ChatGPT.
        • Bias (95%)
          The author expresses a bias towards Apple's ability to capitalize on the ideas and early product offerings of others. He repeatedly mentions how Apple has been late to the market but still manages to succeed.
          • Apple has been notably short on and defensive about its AI chops for going on a decade now.
            • Apple plans merely to refer users to OpenAI, but in a way that shields their data from the start-up. It’s a shocking acknowledgment that Apple doesn’t have technology to match ChatGPT.
              • Despite jumping to an early lead in 2011 with its AI phone assistant, Siri, Apple had fallen badly behind the competition.
                • None of this means Apple’s entry into AI will be a slam dunk.
                  • What were once boringly known as MP3 players predated the iPod. Napster preceded iTunes, which figured out how to charge for licensed music. Nokia, not Apple, popularized the smartphone.
                  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication
                  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication

                  95%

                  • Unique Points
                    • Apple Intelligence won't be available on older iPhones due to insufficient chip power.
                    • Apple Intelligence models for on-device processing are different from those in the cloud.
                    • Older iPhones may use Private Cloud Compute for some tasks, but not all.
                    • Apple Intelligence won't be supported by Vision Pro because the M2 chip is already running at capacity and being used by Neural Engine for real-time processing.
                    • No 'Always Allow' option exists for handing requests to ChatGPT in Apple’s internal versions.
                  • Accuracy
                    • ] Apple Intelligence won't be available on older iPhones due to insufficient chip power.[
                  • Deception (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication
                  • Fallacies (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication
                  • Bias (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication
                  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication
                  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication

                  76%

                  • Unique Points
                    • Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference to showcase new innovations, with a focus on A.I.
                    • Apple Intelligence is described as a ‘new personal intelligence system’, offering features like email rewriting and notification triage.
                    • Users can outsource tasks requiring more power to ChatGPT via a corporate licensing deal with OpenAI.
                    • Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, sees the tool as a ‘secondary, semi-autonomous brain’.
                    • The A.I. model runs on the device itself to protect users’ data.
                  • Accuracy
                    • Apple's A.I. model has three billion parameters, while OpenAI’s GPT-4 has over one trillion.
                    • Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, sees the tool as a ‘secondary, semi-autonomous brain’.
                    • Generative A.I. can misunderstand or hallucinate information and lacks factual accuracy.
                    • Apple is confident in the high quality of its A.I., despite not achieving hundred-percent accuracy.
                  • Deception (30%)
                    The author expresses his personal opinion about Apple's A.I. technology and its potential impact on society, using emotional language and making assumptions about the future without providing any concrete evidence or facts to support his claims.
                    • I had a less sanguine reaction to the W.W.D.C.
                    • We will rapidly enter a world in which we don’t know whether a text message was written by the person sending it or by Apple Intelligence.
                    • Apple Intelligence marks a step into a new technological era
                    • The A.I. community calls this sort of tool an ‘agent.’ Let your A.I. agent access all of your contacts, texts, and calendars, and it will competently plan your life.
                    • Apple presented, as an example, asking the tool, ‘Play the podcast my wife sent the other day.’ Having a machine that can decode such vague references seems quite convenient, but consider that it also requires the phone to understand who your wife is and to rifle through your conversations with her.
                  • Fallacies (80%)
                    The author makes an appeal to fear by describing potential mishaps or misunderstandings that could occur with the use of Apple's A.I. tool (examples: 'a single bizarre accident might be enough to turn an iPhone user off A.I.', 'more frightening would be a reply-all disaster'). This is an informal fallacy as it relies on fear and potential negative outcomes rather than logical reasoning.
                    • 'a single bizarre accident might be enough to turn an iPhone user off A.I.'
                    • 'more frightening would be a reply-all disaster'
                  • Bias (80%)
                    The author expresses a negative attitude towards Apple's new A.I. technology and its potential impact on personal privacy and control over communication, implying a bias against the use of advanced A.I. in everyday life.
                    • Apple Intelligence is more of a ghost in the machine, animating the functions of your phone.
                      • But I had a less sanguine reaction to the W.W.D.C.
                        • During the two years since OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT to the public, we’ve been left to speculate about what drastic effects generative A.I. might have on society.
                          • One can imagine that a single bizarre accident might be enough to turn an iPhone user off A.I.
                            • The fact that Apple A.I. is designed to run on the device itself promises to protect users’ vulnerable personal data to some extent.
                              • We will rapidly enter a world in which we don’t know whether a text message was written by the person sending it or by Apple Intelligence
                                • Yet generative A.I. remains prone to random misunderstandings or ‘Hallucinations’,
                                • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                                  None Found At Time Of Publication
                                • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                                  None Found At Time Of Publication