Just before the WWDC24 event, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shares his thoughts about iOS 18 and Apple’s other developments that the company is about to announce in the upcoming event. We have been hearing about the company working on AI features for future Apple devices. Kuo reaffirms that the company is about to announce a number of AI features. The WWDC24 keynote session will start at 10:30 PM IST on June 10 (today).
Kuo believes that Apple will integrate powerful functions into all aspects of iOS 18 and its system applications. The company’s AI assistant, Siri, will receive a major upgrade, as we have previously reported. However, Kuo notes that the capabilities of the on-device AI functions will be limited due to the 8GB memory size being insufficient for the large language model. For those unaware, Apple will combine local and server-side LLM for the AI features.
Server-side AI features could be rolled out later in phases
Notably, Kuro does not consider Apple’s AI development to be a breakthrough achievement in the field. However, he expects that Apple’s heavy investment in machine learning and artificial intelligence in recent years will pay off in the future. According to his research, the shipment volume of the iPhone 16 series in Q2 2024 may be slightly lower than the same period last year.
The server-side LLMs also take longer to train as compared to the smaller on-device models. According to Kuo, the more advanced server-dependent features could be rolled out later in phases rather than being fully launched with the iPhone 16 series. Reportedly, the more advanced AI features will also be limited to the iPhone 15 Pro models alongside the iPhone 16 series and above.
We have already heard about Apple’s deal with OpenAI and Google for the server-side AI features. However, Kuo downplayed the importance of partnerships with other companies regarding AI. He believes that Apple’s cooperation will mainly focus on the “encapsulation model” of user and application interaction.
He concluded that after WWDC24 Apple will no longer be seen as a company that is lagging behind others in the AI race.
Comments