Tech
Apple Could Lean On Other Brand For AI System: Here’s The Reason Behind Story
iPhone users are already waiting for the next major software update, which is iOS 18. This time, the expectations are high from Apple, as there’s already a lot of buzz around iOS 18 regarding what new changes, improvements, and upgrades it will bring. Apart from all, as expected, it could be a major upgrade for Siri; somehow credit goes to Generative AI.
Leaks and rumors are roaming around that Apple is actively gearing up for AI in iOS 18. The reports are reporting that Apple built its generative AI codenamed Apple GPT, but for this, the giants might use another brand’s system. The higher possibilities are from Google’s Gemini, ChatGPT of OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Although it is expected that Apple, instead of depending on another brand completely, might use a mix of its own as well as external AI for iOS 18, Here mix stands for a homogenous mixture of third-party AI, Apple’s own AI, and a hybrid approach. As mentioned above, Apple may rely on the generative AI systems of Gemini, ChatGPT, or Anthropic, and all of these would probably be cloud-based for complex tasks.
Apple’s own ‘Apple GPT’ could handle simpler tasks on the smartphones themselves and offers an improved and stronger layer of privacy as well as responsiveness. As per the reports of journalist Mark Gurman, it is reported that the Cupertino brand possibly permits the users to choose their AI assistant, the same as choosing a search engine, which means the users might get the power to choose Siri powered by AI systems; for instance, Gemini or ChatGPT.
It’s pretty obvious that running powerful AI needs a lot of resources, but it seems that initially, Cupertino giants might want to avoid this. However, permitting users to choose between their AI assistants sounds unusual for Apple, but undoubtedly it could be advantageous for it in terms of revenue. The way Google pays Apple to be the default search engine, it’s quite possible that other AI brands could also pay Apple to be the preferred assistant on iPhones. Plus, this trick could also reduce costs. For instance, maintaining powerful AI requires a lot of resources, so by using a third-party system, Apple can easily tackle things.
In short, the benefit behind this planning by Cupertino giants is that it avoids headaches in many ways, such as building AI for different regions, which is complex enough. Conversational AI can also be tricky regarding privacy and ethics.
Apart from all this, nothing more reports have come to light, but it is expected that at WWDC 2024, more details regarding Apple’s AI plans and how third-party assistants might work will be revealed.
The U.S. and the European Union (EU) have sponsored heavily around $81 billion for developing next-generation semiconductors, mounting strong competition in the industry.
The report says governments around the world have consigned an overall $380 billion with US and EU benefaction and a combined $81 billion to raising production by companies such as Intel and TSMC. Talking about the dedicated investment of the US in boosting domestic semiconductor production, it appears to be $52.7 billion over the next five years.
Under the Semiconductor Support Act, the U.S. plans to offer a total of $52.7 billion, including $39 billion in production subsidies and $13.2 billion in research and development (R&D) support. Apart from this, the US has confirmed subsidies of $8.5 billion for Intel. $6.6 billion for TSMC, $6.4 billion for Samsung Electronics, and $6.1 billion for Micron.
On the other hand, the EU decided to invest about $46.3 billion in powering semiconductor manufacturing authorities within the region. Based on this investment, the EU estimates that over $108 billion will be invested in both the public and private sectors.
In short, the US and EU are building strong competition in the industry for next-generation semiconductors. The US is playing a strategic game by partnering with the EU, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, especially against China. The EU is offering subsidies for Intel and TSMC factories in Germany; however, the final license is pending.
China is estimated to be financing the cost at more than $142 billion, which includes a new $27 billion chip fund. Japan allocated $25.3 billion to support domestic production, which includes subsidies for TSMC and Rapidus factories, and the aim behind this is to triple chip production sales by 2030.
India confirmed a $10 billion subsidy plan for its very first domestic chip factory, which has seen growth via an indirect support program, but critics point toward direct support being required to maintain its supply chain. The analyst also pointed out that Samsung also needs to provide direct support to maintain its semiconductor supply chain, with this year’s government direct support for the semiconductor industry at only 1.3 trillion won.
Samsung is already leading the AI market; now the other smartphone makers are also competing to win the AI war, and Apple is actively looking to add AI features to the iPhone and is close to a deal with OpenAI, another major name in AI development.
Previously, a few leaks teased somehow Apple and Google’s Gemini AI together in a way to bring something to the iPhones. But evidently, the deal is not closed yet, but one with OpenAI is nearly ready. A new report is reporting that Apple and OpenAI are cooking something as they have “closed in on an agreement” to use ChatGPT features on the iPhone as a part of iOS 18.
Apple has already started gearing up for its next major iteration, iOS 18, in which ChatGPT will be capitalized within iOS. The deal is not exactly clear yet, but it is under discussion and still live. The report also states that a deal between Apple and Google regarding AI isn’t cold yet.
A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that Apple was looking forward to a deal with Google to use Gemini to power AI features in the forthcoming iOS version. It was also stated that Apple was deciding to use Gemini for cloud-based text and image generation.
However, until now, both companies have not come to the same conclusion to reach an agreement, but discussions are still “ongoing.” Apple’s next iOS 18 version is expected to be unveiled at WWDC, along with AI features. The WWDC event is scheduled for June 10, a month after Google’s own I/O developer conference, which is scheduled for May 14.
T-Mobile US, Inc., is a telecommunications firm that provides wireless services in the United States. Now that it is setting up to expand its coverage area, it is looking forward to buying parts of U.S. Cellular, including cell towers and licenses, for more than $2 billion.
US Cellular is also a kind of mobile network operator in the US but has never been one of the major or demanding providers, despite the fact the fact that the carrier has operated its network for some time and is by no means a small player.
However, the carrier has also been slowly losing subscribers over the past few years. If the reports are to be believed, it will be revealed that T-Mobile and Verizon are both trying hard to buy the network US Cellular runs.
T-Mobile is evidently ‘closing in’ on a deal valued at $2 billion, which would take over some of US Cellular’s operations and spectrum licenses. Meanwhile, Verizon is also shadowing a same deal, but while the T-Mobile deal could close as soon as this month, Verizon’s deal is further away.
The report also added that Verizon’s talks with the regional carrier are expected to take more time and probably not result in an agreement; however, the 4,000+ towers that US Cellular owns are reportedly not part of the bargain, as the wireless spectrum licenses are the key point of value.