Apple's AI strategy isn't about catching up - it's about doing it differently

ANALYSIS: While tech giants for illustration Google, Microsoft and OpenAI predominate headlines pinch AI chatbots and rapid-fire rollouts, Apple has taken a quieter, much measured way into artificial intelligence.

In an Australian exclusive, speaking to 9news.com.au astatine Apple's developer conference, nan company's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Greg "Joz" Joswiak said Apple is embracing generative AI—but doing truthful successful a measurement that avoids hype and favours integration.

"Our attack is to return generative AI and usage it to make nan features crossed our apps, crossed our operating systems, crossed our products… better," Joswiak said.

Unlike others, Apple isn't building a chatbot.

In fact, it's collaborated pinch OpenAI to connection ChatGPT as an option for those who want it.

But astatine its core, Apple's strategy is not to spotlight AI - it's to make it softly heighten nan experience.

"Sometimes you don't moreover cognize aliases attraction that you're utilizing generative AI," he said.

Apple Intelligence: A different path

Announced astatine WWDC past year, Apple Intelligence is nan company's general branding for its AI features, but it's not a caller app aliases assistant.

Instead, it's a suite of devices and enhancements embedded straight into nan operating systems utilized each day—like connection summarisation, penning suggestions, Genmoji creation, unrecorded translation, and smarter telephone handling.

Joswiak described it arsenic a semipermanent play, not a guidance to headlines.

"This isn't a one-year thing, aliases a two-year thing. It's thing we'll beryllium moving connected for a decade—if not decades," he said.

Global unit and expectations

Apple's AI announcements travel aft months of scrutiny from analysts and nan tech press, galore of whom suggested nan institution was lagging successful nan AI race.

Unlike its rivals, Apple had made fewer awesome AI announcements successful caller years, fuelling speculation that it was down nan curve.

Joswiak didn't conflict that others had been much vocal, but pointed retired that Apple's way grounds favours execution complete noise.

"Often times you spot our competitors will denote things, not vessel them. And sometimes group don't moreover notice," he said.

"We invited nan higher expectations group person of us."

Design consistency crossed devices

As portion of its broader push, Apple is besides rolling retired a awesome personification interface refresh - nan first successful much than a decade.

Inspired successful portion by nan creation connection of Vision Pro, this caller look - called "liquid glass" is being deployed crossed iOS, iPadOS, macOS and more, helping necktie Apple's merchandise ecosystem person together.

"You don't refresh a UI each year… This allowed america to return different look astatine really to make it moreover fresher," Joswiak said.

He explained that accordant creation - and now, accordant intelligence - is cardinal to helping users move seamlessly betwixt Apple devices.

AI successful nan background, not nan foreground

Rather than build a cardinal AI assistant, Apple wants its intelligence to run subtly, down nan scenes.

"The exertion recedes, and what you're doing becomes nan important part," Joswiak said.

In a world racing to showcase AI's capabilities, Apple's prime to support things understated whitethorn look for illustration a gamble.

But for now, nan institution is sticking to its belief that AI should beryllium useful, not conscionable impressive.

"We're not trying to impressment group pinch AI," Joswiak said.

"We're trying to thief them do much pinch nan devices they already use."

Apple Intelligence runs connected nan iPhone 15 Pro series, and each of nan iPhone 16's, arsenic good arsenic connected Macs and iPads pinch Apple's "M" bid processors.

When I asked Joz which characteristic was nan astir popular, aliases that users should first cheque out, he admitted it was different for each user, but that Apple is much willing successful mundane usefulness - particularly successful devices astir group already trust on.

He gave nan example: "I constitute each nan time," Joswiak said.

"Given my job… I often type faster than I deliberation - aliases deliberation faster than I type. I'm not judge which it is."

That's wherever Apple Intelligence steps in.

The built-in penning devices now thief users rewrite, proofread, and summarise matter - connected everything from emails to notes.

For Joz, it's already go 2nd nature.

"Now I proofread everything conscionable arsenic a matter of course. I present nicely written messages to everybody else," he said9News.

Other features for illustration Genmoji creation, unrecorded translation, and moreover smart telephone guidance (like hold-music discovery aliases spam flagging) are likewise powered by Apple's on-device AI engine.

They whitethorn not look revolutionary connected nan surface, but they're designed to softly prevention time, trim friction, and make mundane interactions smarter.

"There's conscionable truthful many," Joswiak said.

"Some are obvious, others are subtle—but they each help."

New AI features for illustration Live Translation will beryllium disposable successful nan company's adjacent operating strategy for iPhone, iOS 26, which should beryllium disposable later this year, while existing devices for illustration Writing Tools, Genmoji Creation and Image Clean-up are disposable now connected compatible devices - Apple Intelligence must beryllium enabled successful nan settings to get entree to these features.

Trevor Long travelled to nan US arsenic a impermanent of Apple.