Apple may be augmenting its new Apple Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) features with models created by Meta, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The two tech giants are supposedly discussing incorporating Meta's generative AI services into iOS 18 and the next generation of iPhone models.
He WSJ The report cites conversations Apple has started with most of the big names in AI, including Google (Gemini), Anthropic (Claude), and OpenAI (ChatGPT). Plans for Apple Intelligence to include free access to ChatGPT and GPT-4o integration were mentioned among the flurry of Apple Intelligence news at this year's WWDC. This is clearly a non-exclusive agreement if a Meta collaboration is taking place.
Apple's interest in Meta's big Llama 2 and Llama 3 language models makes sense on both ends of any deal. Meta would bring its AI to the huge global network of iPhone users, while Apple could cite Meta's AI features as another selling point for the iPhone. And while both Meta and Apple have some agreements with OpenAI and its main funder, Microsoft, an alliance between the two could help build a competitive alternative even as OpenAI and ChatGPT may be what people initially call generative AI.
mutually beneficial
For Apple as a hardware platform, it is especially good to expand the options of available AI models. That way, Apple can present iPhones as an AI hub, switching between models depending on what people want the AI to do. Apple explicitly noted that goal at this year's WWDC when it announced the deal with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT in Apple products.
“We wanted to start with the best and believe that OpenAI's ChatGPT and its new 4o model represents the best option for our users today,” Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi explained at the event. “We think that ultimately people will have a preference for perhaps certain models that they want to use, perhaps one that is great for creative writing or one that they prefer for coding, so we want to allow users to ultimately , bring the model of your choice and we hope to make integrations with models, such as Google Gemini, for example, in the future.
Any speculation about how Apple Intelligence will change thanks to Meta is premature, but the fact that it's happening might surprise some. Meta's ad revenue took a beating after Apple changed its policies to give users more control over their data in 2021. Requiring user permission before tracking data on other apps and websites cost Meta billions of dollars and led Meta to launch a method for advertisers to avoid Apple attacks. Service fee to boost advertising posts. The stakes in those trade battles are apparently no match for Apple and Meta's anticipated AI gains, and now both seem happy to let bygones be bygones.
