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Global smartphone leader, Apple has that it is integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its devices, a long-awaited move that investors hope will help drive sales of its latest iPhones. According to Reuters, the rollout is part of a wider deployment of artificial intelligence-powered tools in the latest updates to the operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.
The AI features will be available on the latest iPhone series, as well as the Pro and Pro Max versions of the previous iPhone 15 line-up. Users of iPad with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later, and Mac with M1 chips and later can also access the tools.
Users can ask ChatGPT to create written content in any app that supports the new Writing Tools feature. They can also use the chatbot’s image generation capabilities to add images.
Recall that Apple announced the ChatGPT integration in June, as part of the Apple Intelligence unveil. Hosted at the Steve Jobs Theatre in Cupertino, California in September, the #AppleEvent 2024 focused on Apple’s shift towards integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its devices, along with substantial hardware upgrades.
Read also: iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro: All you need to know about Apple’s latest releases
In a nearly two-hour-long presentation, executives including CEO Tim Cook touted how voice assistant Siri would be able to interact with messages, emails, calendars, as well as third-party apps. Siri will be able to write emails and change the tone of voice to suit the occasion.
A week later on Monday, Apple released a paper detailing how its features, including those powered by OpenAI, would ensure the safety of customer data. This includes handling more complex tasks by Apple’s servers under a new offering called Private Cloud Compute.
The said approach will offer more privacy protections as it plans to use in-house chips in data centres that are designed with security features.
The company’s approach contrasts with the enterprise-first focus of its major rivals. According to Apple executive, Craig Federighi, the company hopes these moves will convince its more than 1 billion users of the need for the nascent AI technology.
Apple’s struggle for smartphone sales leadership
The tech leader still relies overly on sales of the iPhone. The latest data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker revealed that Apple enjoyed 3.5% YoY growth this quarter to retain the second spot. This was fueled by a strong demand from the previous models and the launch of the new iPhone 16 lineup.
In Q3 2024, older iPhone models, specifically the iPhone 15, performed exceptionally well due to the heavy promotions and increased marketing activities around Apple Intelligence.
“Despite the staggered rollout of Apple Intelligence in markets outside the U.S., Apple will continue to grow in the upcoming holiday season as it expects many customers to upgrade from the iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and prior models to a new AI-enabled smartphone”, said Nabila Popal, research director for Worldwide Client Devices.
Despite that, Samsung retained its market leadership with an 18.3% share of the total sales despite a drop in the total number of units shipped. The numbers indicate the company’s continued growth in its share in the premium segment as the average prices increased in the quarter driven by a stronger mix of Galaxy AI-enabled models.
“The company started rolling out Galaxy AI features to other Samsung models and launched the new Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 foldables with Galaxy AI, which contributed to a better performance in the premium segment”, said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for EMEA Client Devices.
Some analysts believe that a total boost from the new AI features will not. likely materialize for Apple in the short term.
English (US)