Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has outlined a shift in Apple’s AI strategy for the iPhone. Rather than launching a standalone productive AI chatbot built into iOS 18, Apple reportedly plans to rely on third-party technologies. This means the company could license established AI services from other providers rather than develop a proprietary solution in-house.
The expected approach is to integrate external AI capabilities, potentially licensing offerings from Google Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Gurman notes that the forthcoming iOS 18 will feature artificial intelligence designed to assist users in daily tasks, though specific usage models and interfaces have not yet been disclosed. This approach would allow Apple to bring advanced AI tools to iPhone users without delaying a fully custom product, leveraging proven platforms from established AI players.
Initial hopes for generative AI centered on enhancing Siri, aiming to make the assistant more capable and conversational. In addition, AI enhancements are anticipated to appear within core apps that come pre-installed on iPhones, such as Apple Music, Shortcuts, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, enabling smarter suggestions, automation, and content creation workflows.
Tim Cook has previously signaled that Apple intends to introduce its own form of artificial intelligence in the near future. The expectation has been that such an unveiling would occur in conjunction with Apple’s annual developer-focused event, commonly known as WWDC. The 2024 WWDC, scheduled for mid-March, has been highlighted as the likely platform where Apple would reveal its AI strategy and related capabilities to developers and the public.
Meanwhile, a postscript from tech history notes that an older device, the iPhone 2G with 4 GB, was once unpacked and subsequently sold for a notable amount in a separate market. This nod to past hardware milestones underscores the rapidly evolving nature of mobile AI and the ongoing interest in Apple’s hardware alongside its software ambitions. All of these developments are being tracked by industry observers as part of the broader race to embed intelligent features across mobile ecosystems, with user experience and privacy remaining central concerns for Apple and its users.