Apple launches iPhone into the age of artificial intelligence with free software updates

Countries outside the US won’t get AI software for their iPhones until next year, a date yet to be determined. Apple has spent the last five weeks testing artificial intelligence software among iPhone owners who signed up to help the company fine-tune the technology.

The introduction of artificial intelligence is expected to transform Apple’s often clunky virtual assistant Siri into a more talkative, versatile and colorful companion, whose presence will be indicated by a glowing light that surrounds the iPhone screen while processing requests.

While Apple promises that Siri will be able to do more things and be less prone to confusion, it won’t be able to interact with other apps installed on the iPhone until the next software update arrives, the date of which has not yet been specified.

Other AI features included in this software update will perform various tasks of writing and proofreading, summarizing the content of emails and other documents. The AI ​​will also provide various editing tools to change the look of photos and make it easier to find old images.

Other AI tricks to come in future software updates will include the ability to create custom emojis on the fly or create other fancy images on demand. Apple also plans to eventually enable its artificial intelligence suite to get help from OpenAI’s ChatGPT when users want it.

Most of the artificial intelligence features Apple unveiled Monday are already available on Android smartphones released by Samsung and Google earlier this year.

To differentiate its approach from early leaders in artificial intelligence, the iPhone’s suite of new technologies is billed as “Apple Intelligence.” Apple also promises that its artificial intelligence features will do a much better job of protecting the privacy of iPhone owners, either by running the technology on the device or by placing it in a fortress-like data center where some requests have to be processed remotely.

Since most iPhones currently in use around the world do not have the computer chip required for Apple’s artificial intelligence, the technology is expected to generate huge demand for new models during the holiday season as well as next year. That’s the main reason Apple’s share price has risen 18 percent since the company unveiled its artificial intelligence strategy at a conference in early June. The growth boosted Apple’s market value by about $500 billion, moving it closer to becoming the first US company to be worth $4 trillion.

Apple will give investors their first look at how the iPhone 16 is faring on Thursday when the company releases quarterly financial information for July-September, a period that includes the first few days the new models went on sale.

Demand for high-end iPhone 15 models grew as prices fell and hype grew over Apple’s entry into the artificial intelligence market, according to research firm International Data Corp.’s assessment of the smartphone market for the latest quarter.

Apple’s iPhone shipments rose 3.5 percent year-over-year to 56 million worldwide between July and September, second only to Samsung, according to IDC. The question now is whether Apple’s gradual introduction of more artificial intelligence will lead owners of older iPhones to spend money on new models during the holidays, “future-proofing their purchases,” said IDC analyst Nabila Popal.

Also on Monday, Apple said that with a software update, some AirPods will be able to be used as hearing aids.

An estimated 30 million people—one in eight Americans over the age of 12—suffer from hearing loss in both ears. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, millions of people would benefit from hearing aids, but most have never tried them.