SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is expected to make the case next week that it is not being left behind as tech world rivals blaze ahead with artificial intelligence.
AI and perhaps even a partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI will likely be a driving theme at the Monday kickoff of Apple’s annual WWDC developers’ conference in Silicon Valley, according to analysts.
The conference is an annual jamboree for developers who create apps and software for Apple’s ecosystem, and CEO Tim Cook will work hard to persuade them that the company is a key AI player as rivals Microsoft and Google roll out innovations in rapid-fire succession.
While Apple has been quietly including AI features in its iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers for years, it has yet to solidify its overall strategy or embrace ChatGPT-style generative AI that took the world by storm in late 2022.
Apple’s share price has been on a roller coaster ride since the spark of the AI revolution, but the company’s Wall Street believers see next week’s announcements as the beginning of a new chapter for the iPhone-maker.
“WWDC represents the most important event for Apple in over a decade as the pressure to bring a generative AI stack of technology for developers and consumers is front and center,” Wedbush Equities senior analyst Daniel Ives told AFP.
At the heart of the announcements will almost certainly be an update to Apple’s iPhone operating system that is expected to see AI given a central role, according to Ives.
He also predicts a “flagship” OpenAI partnership involving an exclusive chatbot, which could be part of an upgrade to the much-derided virtual assistant Siri.
Since Apple makes most of its money from selling iPhones and other hardware, AI integrations will likely focus on its devices and services working more seamlessly together, said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.
“At the end of the day for Apple, it is about getting people to upgrade their iPhone,” Milanesi said.
“We will see if Apple gives them a compelling reason to do that.”
Apple’s rival Microsoft has “thrown down the gauntlet” by injecting generative AI features into Windows-powered computers to challenge MacBook laptops, according to Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart.
“The timing is critical for Apple,” said Emarketer senior analyst Gadjo Sevilla.
Announcements at WWDC will be a “litmus test” for Apple’s ability to integrate ChatGPT-like generative AI into all its devices and services, he said.
“Any misstep by Apple at this juncture could see it lose its place as a technology leader, especially as it is now sandwiched between two AI giants with actual products and release roadmaps that go well into the next two years.”
Early this year, Apple lost its spot as the world’s biggest company by market capitalization to Microsoft, with AI-chip leader Nvidia quickly closing in.
CEO Cook and his teams have already indicated their intention to answer the AI challenge by putting more powerful and AI-ready chips in recent iPad and MacBook releases.
But the big challenge for Apple is how to infuse the technology into its products without weakening its heavily promoted user privacy and security, according to analysts.
ChatGPT-style AI voraciously feeds off data and Apple will be at pains to fight the AI race while living up to its traditional position on safeguarding data privacy.
“Being too controlling of an AI ecosystem could cause Apple to lose ground or fall behind while other companies are moving fast and breaking things,” Sevilla said.
As it moves forward, Apple has little other choice than to enter the race.
Market-tracker Canalys forecasts that 16 percent of smartphones shipped globally this year will be AI-capable, with that share growing to 54 percent by 2028.
Apple faces pressure to deliver on AI at developer conference
Apple faces pressure to deliver on AI at developer conference
Ilia Malinin hints at ‘inevitable crash’ amid Olympic pressure and online hate in social media post
- He says Olympic pressure and online hate have weighed on him. He described negative thoughts and past trauma flooding in during his skate
- He later congratulated the surprise champion, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan
MILAN: Ilia Malinin posted a video on social media Monday juxtaposing images of his many triumphs with a black-and-white image of the US figure skater with his head buried in his hands, and a caption hinting at an “inevitable crash” amid the pressure of the Olympics while teasing that a “version of the story” is coming on Saturday.
That is when Malinin is expected to skate in the traditional exhibition gala to wrap up the Olympic figure skating program.
Malinin, who helped the US clinch the team gold medal early in the Winter Games, was the heavy favorite to add another gold in the individual event. But he fell twice and struggled throughout his free skate on Friday, ending up in eighth.
He acknowledged afterward that the pressure of the Olympics had worn him down, saying: “I didn’t really know how to handle it.”
Malinin alluded again to the weight he felt while competing in Milan in the caption to his social media video.
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” wrote the 21-year-old Malinin. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash.”
Malinin, who is expected to chase a third consecutive world title next month in Prague, had been unbeaten in 14 events over more than two years. Yet while Malinin always seemed to exude a preternatural calm that belied his age, the son of Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov had admitted early in the Winter Games that he was feeling the pressure.
The first time came after an uneven short program in the team event, when he finished behind Yuma Kagiyama of Japan — the eventual individual silver medalist. Malinin referenced the strain of the Olympics again after the Americans had won the team gold medal.
But he seemed to be the loose, confident Malinin that his fans had come to know after winning the individual short program. He even playfully faked that he was about to do a risky backflip on the carpeted runway during his free skate introduction.
The program got off to a good start with a quad lutz, but the problems began when he bailed out of his quad axel. He ended up falling twice later in the program, and the resulting score was his worst since the US International Classic in September 2022.
Malinin was magnanimous afterward, hugging and congratulating surprise gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. He then answered a barrage of questions from reporters with poise and maturity that few would have had in such a situation.
“The nerves just went, so overwhelming,” he said, “and especially going into that starting pose, I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head. So many negative thoughts that flooded into there and I could not handle it.”
“All I know is that it wasn’t my best skate,” Malinin added later, “and it was definitely something I wasn’t expecting. And it’s done, so I can’t go back and change it, even though I would love to.”
