SaMedia, Dec. 11—Apple released new versions of its iPhone, iPad, and Mac software on Wednesday, featuring a long-awaited ChatGPT integration with Siri. This update is seen as a significant step in Apple’s AI development, promising to enhance user experience and drive iPhone sales.
The ChatGPT integration activates when Siri encounters complex questions. If a question is better suited for ChatGPT, Siri asks the user for permission to access the OpenAI service. Apple has built-in privacy protections, ensuring OpenAI won’t store requests. The integration uses OpenAI’s GPT-4o model.
Apple users do not need an OpenAI account to use this feature but can pay for upgraded versions of ChatGPT through Apple. Users can also access ChatGPT through text menus.
The iOS 18.2 release marks a critical milestone for Apple. The company is banking on Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features, to lead the iPhone 16 lineup’s marketing campaign. Apple first announced the ChatGPT integration in June.
The initial release of Apple Intelligence in October included writing tools, a new Siri design, and notification summaries. The company plans to release another update next year, improving Siri’s ability to take actions inside apps.
Many investors believe that Apple Intelligence will boost iPhone sales and drive an upgrade cycle. This integration also marks a major victory for OpenAI, putting its product in front of millions of iPhone users.
Early iOS 18.2 users already benefit from AI-powered features like email rewriting and notification summaries. However, the notification summary feature has faced some criticism for insensitivity. iOS 18.2 also introduces Genmoji, allowing users to create custom emojis by writing a description.
As Apple continues to integrate AI, it aims to provide more useful and intuitive experiences for its users.
