Siri is one of the dumbest chatbots on the market. Apple hopes reboot can power Artificial intelligence is making a comeback.
When Apple holds its annual developer conference next week, the big reveal is expected to be a modern version of Siri that looks more like ChatGPT. Gone will be the old version, which has been limited for so long that many, if at all, use it only for basic functions like setting timers.
The new Siri, built on Google Gemini Technologyis expected to deliver a more modern search experience, remembering users’ previous queries and accessing data from their devices for personalized responses. A new standalone paid Siri app is also expected to be launched, similar to rival AI apps.
The question is whether new Siri and other operating system updates put Apple on a path to bringing generative artificial intelligence to the masses, leveraging the company’s powerful assets that have allowed it to dominate the market even as it lags years behind rivals.
“I think Apple is going to win on artificial intelligence,” said Ron Johnson, Apple’s retail chief under Steve Jobs. “Mobile phones are the primary device on which people use AI. Apple is working with the right people to bring unique AI experiences to mobile phones.”
Tim Cook leverages Apple’s dominance in devices Let his company become a toll booth: Apps pay tens of billions of dollars a year so they can reach consumers, and Alphabet’s Google pays a similar fee to become the default search in the Safari browser. A smarter Siri could collect new tolls at the entrance of artificial intelligence.
Today, most consumers only experience artificial intelligence in more sophisticated online searches. But the explosive growth of Anthropic’s business, powered by professionals who use Claude to get things done, also points to the future of artificial intelligence for consumers: when smartphones will serve as smart assistant Do something similar.
A smartphone can make restaurant reservations on its own because it has the user’s calendar and knows their dietary restrictions. It can order a ride because it knows the user’s home address and stores credit card information. When smartphone agents directly call online services on behalf of users, the applications themselves may be abstracted away.
Apple’s main advantage in the future world is that the iPhone already knows everything about the user. Companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars building the most sophisticated AI models will likely have to go through Apple if they want to reach consumers.
In a recent investor note, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan argued that Apple could become a market for app manipulation. Now, apps compete for downloads and screen time. In the future, they may compete to become the service called by smartphone agents. For example, if Uber Technologies wanted to request a ride through Siri, it would likely have to pay Apple a hefty fee.
OpenAI wants to control its own destiny, teaming up with former Apple design expert Jony Ive to Make your own AI device. Last fall, it also launched its app store strategy. So far, its application plans failed to inspireand it seems unlikely to launch a device that will convince consumers to trade in their old iPhones.
Apple has previously promised a smarter Siri. Two years ago, it said the chatbot would interact with messages and apps and understand the user’s screen. It later settled a class-action lawsuit stemming from its failure to provide these features.
“The serious challenge facing Apple is its ability to translate its (imagined?) Apple smart capabilities into products or services that people actually use,” MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote in an investor note.
In fact, all of Apple’s advantages will be meaningless if it can’t provide powerful artificial intelligence to guide iPhone users through this new world. Ironically, when Siri launched as a standalone app 16 years ago, its co-founders were building an agent for tasks like making restaurant reservations. However, after purchasing the app, Apple failed to realize this vision. It has struggled to modernize its chatbots, and after years of trying, it still has to turn to Google to provide the technical backend.
Another advantage of Apple’s AI is its emphasis on protecting user privacy, but it’s also a hurdle. This stance builds trust among consumers, who are likely to continue sharing their personal data with Apple rather than with other companies known for stealing or selling their data. However, hiding user information even from itself would complicate the ability of Apple engineers to train better AI models.
Apple’s struggles Ensure memory supply would prove another challenge. Future iPhones will need more memory to run complex AI models “on-device” to protect user data from being uploaded to the cloud, but AI chipmakers such as Nvidia are gobbling up memory, causing their prices to skyrocket.
Last year Apple announced Artificial intelligence chief retires After he failed to provide a better vision for Siri. It has no excuse not to deliver.
Write to Rolfe Winkler rolf.winkler@wsj.com
