iOS 18, the next major iteration of the iPhone operating system, is reportedly going to feature a new suite of AI-powered features designed to keep up with the AI race where Google, Microsoft, and other tech giants are at the forefront.
According to a report from AppleInsider, Apple doesn’t necessarily care to roll out an AI chatbot like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Instead, the Cupertino-based tech giant is focused on enhancing the capabilities of utilities and apps that already exist within the Apple ecosystem, including Siri, Safari, Messages, and Spotlight Search.
As we reported in mid-April, these AI features are rumored to be “on device” (for the most part) to stay true to Apple’s commitment to user privacy.
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iOS 18: 3 rumored AI-powered features
The AI-powered features rolling out to iOS 18 are underpinned by a large language model (LLM) called Apple Ajax, AppleInsider said.
With this LLM at the helm, here are the AI features we expect to see for the next big iOS release:
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1. Summarization with Siri
Apple may be arming Siri with summarization smarts for Messages. The report wasn’t clear on what, exactly, Siri will do as part of this new integration, but if we can make an educated guess, the assistant may have the ability to give you a synopsis of texts (at the very least).
2. Summarization with Safari
Safari is also getting summarization capabilities, according to AppleInsider. With this feature, users will have the opportunity to get brief, AI-generated summaries of any webpage on the screen.
3. Spotlight Search gets smarter
The report reveals that Apple Ajax will allow iOS 18 to generate “sentence-long responses” without cloud-based processing. And according to AppleInsider, it spits it out in “milliseconds.”
This will be beneficial for Spotlight Search, another feature that will reportedly get sprinkled with AI enhancements. Spotlight Search is expected to get more intelligent. For example, if you type in a saved contact’s name, it will display their information.
“The software will also communicate with the Calendar app and take into account events when creating a response,” AppleInsider said.
Although Apple Ajax can perform basic AI tasks while remaining offline (e.g., analyzing text and summarization), AppleInsider claims that more complex AI computations will require cloud-based processing.
As mentioned at the outset, we expect to hear more about iOS 18 at WWDC on June 10. The next major version is expected to be released alongside the new iPhone 16 series in September.