Apple's Late Entry to AI

The tech world has been consumed with AI for the past year, as company after company races to showcase their AI capabilities. ChatGPT took the world by storm, Google rushed out Bard, Microsoft quickly integrated ChatGPT into Bing, Meta open-sourced their LLMs, and the list goes on... Meanwhile, Apple stayed conspicuously quiet, leading to a flood of headlines about Apple being behind in AI.

In the race to AI, sure you could say that Apple is behind. But Apple wouldn't enter that race. Apple doesn't care about being first. They care about being right. When you look closely at their newly announced AI strategy, you start to see why their methodical approach might be the smartest move in the game.

The Apple Way

In 2007, the announcement of thre iphone changed the world. But remember, this wasnt the first smartphone, nokia and motorolla were dominating the market. This is also true for tablets, smartwatches, and wireless earbuds. In each case, a market already existed, Apple waited, watched, learned from others' mistakes, and then released products that defined their categories. AirPods weren't the first wireless earbuds, but they set the standard everyone else now follows.

Their approach to AI follows this same playbook, but with an interesting twist. Instead of trying to compete with ChatGPT or Bard, Apple is doing something characteristically different: they're weaving AI directly into the fabric of their ecosystem (in a way that only Apple can).

Integration

Think about what makes Apple products special. It's not usually any single feature - it's how everything works together seamlessly. So it makes sense that rather than creating a standalone chatbot, Apple is building AI capabilities directly into the operating system. This makes it feel like a natural extension of how you already use your phone or your computer.

Their AI is there when you’re writing. It's built into Messages & Mail. No need to switch apps or think about "using AI" - it just becomes part of how your device works. Apple is great at taking complex technology and making it disappear into the background of everyday tasks.

The Hardware Advantage

When you look at companies that offer AI, for example Google and Microsoft, you see that they run these models in the cloud (which is rather expensive). Apple instead, is leveraging its custom silicon. They're designing chips specifically optimized for AI tasks, allowing them to run complex AI operations right on your device.

This sets it apart from others specifically in performance and privacy. When AI runs on your device, there's no need to send any data to the cloud. Messages, photos, and personal information stay right on the phone. And because it's processing everything locally, it can be faster and work even without an internet connection.

Of course, there will be times when more computing power is needed, and for this Apple has created something called Private Cloud Compute. It taps into more powerful servers when needed, but it's designed with the same privacy-first approach that Apple is known for.

The OpenAI Partnership

The most fascinating part of Apple's strategy is their partnership with OpenAI. Instead of trying to replicate ChatGPT's capabilities, they're integrating it directly - but in a very Apple way. When you make a request, Apple's system first tries to handle it on-device. If it determines that ChatGPT would give you a better answer, it will ask you if youd like to use ChatGPT and then pass the query along.

This is pretty clever. Apple gets to leverage ChatGPT's capabilities while maintaining their privacy standards and user experience. OpenAI suddenly gets access to Apple's massive user base - though this might prove to be a double-edged sword given the potential scale of Apple's 2.2 billion devices.

What's particularly smart about Apple's approach is how it aligns with actual user behavior. Most people don't want to learn prompt engineering or figure out how to use a new AI tool; in fact only a small percentage of the population currently uses AI. People do however want their everyday tasks to be easier and faster. By integrating AI directly into the interface people already use, the AI is there for users in a way that feels natural and not intimidating.

Apple's AI strategy isn't centered around timing - it's getting it right. While everyone else dives in to maintain their competitive market share, Apple focuses on building the most thoughtful one. One that fits naturally into our lives rather than demanding our attention.