Apple and OpenAI officially announced a partnership during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) keynote event on Monday. As a part of the partnership, Apple is bringing ChatGPT, powered by GPT-4o, to Siri and its operating systems, including iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, right on schedule.
Expectedly, Apple is steering away from using the term Artificial Intelligence as the powerhouse of its AI-powered systems and instead prefers to use Apple Intelligence. It uses “Private Cloud Compute” and clarified that it “uses your data only to fulfill your request and never stores it.”
Thanks to ChatGPT integration into Apple’s iOS 18, iPadOS 15, and macOS 15, users can utilize the popular chatbot’s expertise in understanding images and documents without switching between different tools. Moreover, Siri has also finally received its due update. Once the update rolls out, users can easily generate images with the help of ChatGPT, as well as enhance their written content. Furthermore, it will be deeply integrated into Messages, Mail app, and Compose. As an example, you could just ask Siri for a recipe for a popular Italian dish, and it will read out the recipe for you.
Users can access ChatGPT for free from their Apple devices, plus the chats won’t be recorded. Those who have already subscribed to ChatGPT will get all the same features through the device’s system. And regarding privacy, when you use ChatGPT, Apple says it will request permission before sending anything off the device.
That said, developers and beta testers may get their hands on it before most users, but regular users might have to wait until Apple’s fall event to install the latest software updates. You can also check whether your device(s) will support iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia.
In related news, Sam Altman says he is “very happy to be partnering with Apple.” However, Elon Musk has voiced skepticism regarding the Apple-OpenAI partnership and has even threatened to ban Apple devices within his companies.