iOS 18's artificial intelligence will be different from the competition

New revelations from journalist Mark Gurman have been published in his weekly newsletter,Power On. We discover thatAI features in iOS 18 will be based on local calculations. Facts that have already been shared by other sources before. In other words: the algorithm that powers these new features will be stored on the iPhone, and your personal data used to power it would not be transmitted to third-party servers. An additional and welcome guarantee of respect for private life. Be careful, however, because this information must be considered with caution. On the one hand, because Apple could have knowingly disseminated false clues in the press in order to detect the origin of leaks, the company preferring to keep its future projects secret by imposing confidentiality on its collaborators.

On the other hand, we know thatthe apple firm has not always been the most transparentregarding its management of our personal data, precisely. Thus, its iPhones have in the past been pinned for listening carried out via the microphone, without the user being aware. In addition, we know that Cupertino now sells behavioral statistics to advertisers. These come directly from our daily habits. In view of the gold mine represented by the potential searches carried out via the new AI features of iOS 18, doubt therefore remains permissible.

New features for professionals

Among the features that Apple would develop with artificial intelligence on the menu of iOS 18, it is assumed thatKeynotecould make it possible to enhance presentations with content created using a robot. Its advantages would then be reminiscent of those of DALL-E, to generate images on the fly, according toprompts. A potential collaboration with Alphabet, through its algorithm also powering Gemini, could also help to make text appear withinPages. Microsoft Word's competitor is automatically installed on all Macs, which would also benefit from the improvement with the update to macOS 15.

At the same time, we assume that the appNumberscould naturally suggest formulas to users, according to their needs. This is what Google Sheets already allows you to do, hence also the question of a possible partnership with its publisher.

As a reminder, Samsung had also recently presented new AI features for its mobiles. We then saw the appearance of an audio-to-text transcription assistant for meetings. The tool is an integral part of the suiteGalaxy AI, available in particular on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Siri could also improve

Beyond the iWork office suite, Apple could also benefit from theWorldwide Developer Conferenceto unveil a more efficient voice assistant with iOS 18. Siri, of proprietary design, would finally offer better answers to its interlocutors. Indeed, although a pioneer since it has been available to the general public for almost fifteen years, this virtual companion has not, in recent years, been able to offer results as effective as the competition.

To remedy this, it is rumored that Apple is in discussions withOpenAI. The only downside, and not the least important: if until today Siri's content was not the best, it was mainly due to a lack of integration with search engines. However, although Cupertino would develop one in the greatest secrecy, the new AI features of iOS 18 would therefore be carried out locally – without access to the web. So performance might not fly as high as the competition.

Note, moreover, that a navigation assistant could also see the light of day within the Safari browser. This would lose market share since iPhones are forced to ask their owners which browser they want to use when they first start the mobile.

A new engine under the hood?

To be able to offer us local calculations only, iPhones will require a certain power which they perhaps do not have today.

To deal with this, Apple would therefore have planned a new engine withthirty-two heartsintegrated into the motherboard of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Called Neural Engine like its predecessor, this component could also be welded onto theM4 chip expected at the end of the yearor even in 2025 on Mac.

iOS 18 will be presented during the opening keynote of the Worldwide Developer Conference. This begins at 7 p.m. (Paris time) on June 10. You will of course be able to consult a complete summary in our columns on the big day.