Apple to bring generative AI to iPhone 16 with iOS 18; Know what’s coming

Apple is reportedly set to bring generative AI to the iPhone 16 with iOS 18, playing catch up with Google and Microsoft.

iOS 18 to get major generative AI features, reports claim. (Unsplash)

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing technology and every major tech company is making efforts to incorporate it into their suite of products. Surprisingly, Apple has not entered the race so far despite having a multitude of products such as the iPhone, iPad, and others, that could take advantage of this booming technology. However, that could change soon as reports claim the Cupertino-based tech giant is set to bring generative AI to the iPhone 16 starting with iOS 18.

iOS 18 to get generative AI

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed that Apple is poised to bring generative AI to the iPhone 16 with iOS 18, and is taking extra careful steps as it plays catch up with Google, Microsoft, and others. The tech giant has even gone ahead and paused work on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and other updates to maintain quality control after a multitude of glitches were detected in the code. The engineers have reportedly been tasked with fixing all the issues before working on any new features for the next big software release.

As per Gurman, this extra step is because the iPhone 16, which isn't expected to arrive until next year, will reportedly skip on any new groundbreaking features. Thus, Apple's whole marketing strategy could depend upon its next OS for the iPhone, the iOS 18.

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The company's senior management has reportedly called the next software updates for Apple devices “ambitious and compelling” which are expected to bring major features and design changes apart from security and performance enhancements.

AI efforts

Gurman previously reported that Apple's AI efforts are reportedly being led by two of its Senior Vice Presidents inside the Cupertino-based tech giant - John Giannandrea and Craig Federighi. Both the VPs are being termed as “executive sponsors” of the AI push, while Eddie Cue, Apple's head of Services, has also gotten involved.

While Giannandrea's team is working on developing an AI system and using Siri to implement it, Federighi's team is the one actively trying to incorporate generative AI features into iOS 18. The report further claims that this addition could enhance several of iOS' features, namely Siri, and Messages, where the apps could autocomplete sentences and even field questions.