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Apple releases new family of Open-source Efficient Language Models as AI work progresses

Apple AI features iOS 18

Ahead of iOS 18’s debut at WWDC in June, Apple has released a family of open-source large language models. Called OpenELM, Apple describes these as: a family of Open-source Efficient Language Models.

In its testing, Apple says that OpenELM offers similar performance to other open language models, but with less training data.

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Rumors: Calculator app coming to the iPad this year, new Mac app in the works, more

In addition to new artificial intelligence features, Apple’s next round of OS updates will reportedly offer some big new features for the … Calculator app. Multiple rumors over the last week say that Apple is planning to make the Calculator app more powerful, add math features to Apple Notes, and bring the Calculator app to the iPad for the first time.

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Gurman: iOS 18 AI features to be powered by ‘entirely on-device’ LLM, offering privacy and speed benefits

As indicated by much of the research material Apple has been publishing in recent months, the company is investing heavily in all sorts of artificial intelligence technologies. Apple will announce its AI strategy in June at WWDC, as part of iOS 18 and its other new OS versions.

In the latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman says to expect the new iPhone AI features to be powered entirely by an offline, on-device, large language model developed by Apple. You can expect Apple will tout the privacy and speed benefits of this approach.

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iOS 18 Siri: Three clues about what it may be able to do

iOS 18 Siri – three clues | Abstract image reminiscent of Siri animation

People have been complaining about Siri for years now, arguing that it’s fallen behind the likes of Alexa and Google Assistant. With clear evidence that 2024 is going to see dramatic improvements in Apple’s AI features, will iOS 18 Siri finally turn things around?

I’m very much hoping the answer is yes, and think there are three clues which provide some reason for optimism …

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Apple struck deal with Shutterstock to license millions of images for AI training

Apple AI features iOS 18

The AI boom has sprung up a mini-economy for content repositories, which AI companies want access to in order to train their models.

Companies like OpenAI initially trained their models by scraping data from the web. However, with the legal overhang of copyright looming, companies are looking to strike deals to formally license content going forward. Apple is one such participant. Reuters reports that Apple struck a deal to license millions of images owned by Shutterstock, a stock image site.

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Alleged iOS 18 design leak promises the visionOS-like redesign everyone wants [U: Likely fake]

Update: MacRumors has updated its piece with this: “We’ve received information from several sources indicating that the image is fake.”

Apple Vision Pro’s greatest contribution to humankind in year one may just be inspiring the iOS 18 redesign everyone wants. Our friends at MacRumors have published what they describe as an “iPhone frame template from an anonymous source who claims they obtained it from an iOS engineer.” It could be nothing, or it could be the first glimpse at a return to realism in iPhone software design.

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Siri in iOS 18: An AI revolution, or a sometimes useful dumpster fire?

Siri launched with the iPhone 4S in October 2011, replacing Voice Control with a more capable virtual assistant. A dozen years later, Siri has evolved into the primary way we interact with our Apple products.

Wait, no, I’m being told Siri sounds more natural but the core technology is roughly the same. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence now means generative AI and chat bots are based on large language models.

Siri and the rest of iOS 18 will join the AI revolution in June, ending our long national nightmare of Siri being somewhere between hot garbage and kinda useful sometimes. At least that’s what’s being reported, but we don’t really have a great sense of what to expect yet.

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iOS 18 again said to be ‘the most ambitious overhaul’ to the iPhone ever

Apple today confirmed that WWDC 2024 will kick off on June 10, where we expect iOS 18 and major new AI features. In a new report today, Bloomberg reiterates that iOS 18 will be “the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone’s software in its history.”

One thing we shouldn’t expect at WWDC, however, is Apple’s own generative AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT or Google Gemini.

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Apple buying AI services from Chinese tech giant Baidu, say reports

Apple buying AI services from Chinese tech giant Baidu | Brain image against colorful background

Chinese media is reporting that Apple is buying AI services from local tech giant Baidu. The WSJ had earlier reported that the iPhone maker had been in discussions with the company, to use its AI smarts in iOS 18.

Baudi operates a ChatGPT-style LLM known as ERNIE Bot, which claims to “comprehend human intentions and deliver accurate, logical, and fluent responses approaching human level” …

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Gurman: iOS 18 to feature new home screen that is ‘more customizable’, as part of biggest iPhone update ever

iOS 18 custom app icon layouts

In today’s edition of Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman writes that users should expect updates to the iPhone home screen as part of iOS 18. Although light on details, he says iOS 18 will make the home screen “more customizable”. Update: MacRumors says one of the changes will mean that iPhone users will be able to place app icons freely on the grid, making gaps on the screen possible for the first time.

Apple apparently believes iOS 18 will be its biggest update ever. AI will be a key focus, with artificial intelligence powered features integrated across the operating system. Apple may also integrate chatbot functionality via Google’s Gemini.

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Apple in talks with China’s Baidu for iOS 18 generative AI partnership

Apple AI features iOS 18

Earlier this week, news broke that Apple was in talks with Google to license its Gemini models to be used to power some generative AI features in the upcoming version of iOS, iOS 18, for the iPhone. It was also said to have spoken with OpenAI about a possible deal.

Today, the Wall Street Journal says Apple also held talks with Baidu, to license its models. This would likely be intended to serve AI requests to Apple customers in China, as Chinese law requires models to be approved by its regulator before they are allowed to be used.

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Eight ways AI accessibility features could turbo-boost the Apple experience

AI accessibility features could turbo-boost the Apple experience | Wheelchair user in the Chicago Marathon

Disability campaigner Colin Hughes has described eight ways that AI accessibility features could turbo-boost the experience of using Apple products this year.

Hughes – who is quadriplegic, and previously shared with us the ways in which Apple tech helps him in his daily life – is excited by the company’s focus on artificial intelligence

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