Apple Intelligence was the main topic of discussion during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 held last week. The Cupertino-based tech behemoth introduced a slew of new artificial intelligence (AI) features and capabilities for its operating systems. According to a fresh source, some of these capabilities will not be available when iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia are launched globally later this year. Some of these capabilities, particularly those involving the virtual assistant Siri, may not be available to most users until 2025.
Some Apple Intelligence features could be delayed
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple does not plan to release some AI features until late 2024 or early 2025. The recent release of the first developer beta of the operating software goes to the same conclusion, as it lacks several AI features. Gurman stated that the tech giant prefers to release as many new features as possible with the first developer beta to give developers enough time to integrate the new experiences into their apps.
According to the source, some of the features will be delayed, and when they do arrive, they will only be available in preview. This means that only a restricted number of people will have initial access to the capabilities, which will then be gradually handed out to a larger user base.
This new feature rollout model is expected to provide several new benefits for Apple. Gurman claims that this staggered strategy will help the corporation to better manage its resources while not overwhelming employees or compromising features. Training the AI in several worldwide languages is likewise a time-consuming task, as is expanding its Private Cloud Compute cloud architecture. Furthermore, the paper suggests that this extra time could be used to address difficulties with AI hallucinations (chatbots producing illogical responses).
Finally, as previously reported, Apple is still seeking third-party AI chatbot producers to add to its platform. The company is apparently in talks with Google about Gemini AI and with Anthropic about Claude AI. In China, where most international AI chatbots are unavailable, the internet behemoth is planning to collaborate with Baidu and Alibaba.
Notably, some of the Mail app’s AI capabilities will be added later this year. These capabilities include the ability to categorise emails into tabs such as newsletters, announcements, and shopping. Another tool called Swift Assist, a cloud-based AI programming companion for Xcode will be available closer to the end of the year.
Apart from these, some non-AI capabilities are unlikely to be included when iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia launch this fall. These include the Mac Virtual Display on Vision Pro, simultaneous live sports streaming in the Apple TV app, and Home app compatibility for controlling vacuum cleaners and monitoring home electricity consumption.
Apple Intelligence features will be released in 2025
It will take until the next year for users to experiment with the majority of Siri’s new AI features, according to Gurman. These include contextual awareness and natural language responses, semantic indexing for Siri’s knowledge of on-device information and personal data, interaction with native apps, and computer vision that allows the virtual assistant to read the current screen.
However, many Apple Intelligence features will remain available in the first general release of the forthcoming operating systems. These are supposed to include AI-powered priority notifications, webpage summaries, voice memos, meeting notes, and email. Furthermore, there are systemwide Writing Tools, picture generation, and Genmoji, a custom AI emoji maker.
