2024 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for Apple. The Apple Vision Pro started shipping today, and it’s not just a new product, it’s an entirely new computing platform for the company. So what else could happen that would make 2024 a pivotal year for Apple? It’s about AI, based on comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook during Thursday’s first-quarter financials call.
In his opening statements, Cook said Apple “will continue to invest in…the technologies that will shape the future.” This includes artificial intelligence, which we continue to devote a significant amount of time and effort to, and we are excited to share details of our ongoing work in this area later this year.
“Later this year” probably means Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, where the company showcases the latest developments in its operating systems. Cook’s comment comes after Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman announced last Sunday that iOS 18 would be “one of the biggest, if not the biggest, iOS updates in the company’s history.” Last October, Gurman announced that Apple’s generative AI push would kick off with iOS 18.
And Cook, on Thursday’s call, all but confirmed that push during a response to a question from Goldman Sachs’ Mike Ng. “In terms of generative AI… we have a lot of work going on internally, as I’ve alluded to before. Our modus operandi, if you will, has always been to do work and then talk about it and not get in front of ourselves, and so we’re going to stick to that as well. But we have some things that we’re incredibly excited about that we’ll talk about later this year.
To end Thursday’s call, Cook was asked again about AI by Ben Reitzes of Melius Research. Here’s Cook’s response: “Let me just say that I think there is a huge opportunity for Apple with Generation AI and AI, and without going into more detail and without getting ahead of myself.”
It remains to be seen how Apple will use generative AI in its operating system. The most obvious feature is Siri, which would give it a big boost in terms of operability and the responses it provides. Messages could benefit from this, and we might see it in some apps. For example, generative AI is often used by software developers and could therefore be a major feature of Xcode, Apple’s integrated development environment application.
AI has exploded onto the tech scene, particularly generative AI, which is AI used to create content. While several companies have demonstrated generative AI features, Apple has been lurking in the shadows, leading to speculation about Apple’s plans.
The ability to create something out of what seems like nothing is why generative AI has gotten all the attention. But Apple offers non-generative AI features in its products: the company generally doesn’t use the term “AI” and prefers “machine learning.” Cook went out of his way to emphasize that on Thursday’s call when talking about the Vision Pro. “It of course builds on a lot of innovations that Apple has spent several years on, from silicon to displays, AI and machine learning, all the hand tracking and room mapping,” he said. Cook said. “This is all AI-driven, and so we’re incredibly excited.”
