Text / Brother Dao
When Android machines are making a fuss around AI, Apple fans are waiting for Apple AI to debut. The day finally came.
At 1 a.m. on June 11, Apple WWDC 2024 (Worldwide Developers Conference) arrived as scheduled.
Unlike last year, Apple did not launch any hardware products at this conference. Instead, it focused entirely on operating system updates, sharing new versions of visionos, ios, ipados, macos, watchos and other major operating systems in sequence, that is A major update to the Apple family of os. After
, apple intelligent (Apple Smart) finally appeared, and Apple officially announced its cooperation with openai. However, just like in previous years, Apple is still unable to avoid complaints about "lack of innovation" and has also been "bombarded" by Musk's continuous posts. So, what exactly did Apple talk about at WWDC 2024?
1 A more “personalized” ios 18
According to the timeline of the press conference, let’s take a look at what Apple specifically said.
The first one to appear is apple tv+. This has little relevance to Chinese people, so we can skip it directly. Then the latest visionpro system that has attracted much attention is officially launched: visionos 2.
This newly upgraded visionos 2 brings the space photo function. Through AI calculation and analysis, Visionos 2 can convert all 2D images in the gallery into spatial 3D real-size images. Moreover, the overall interaction has also been upgraded, providing more shortcut gestures.
Perhaps the most interesting thing for fruit fans is that visionpro will be sold in mainland China, priced at 29,999 yuan. But according to Zhibaidao, the price of is one w more expensive than Xianyu. Apple is really confident in domestic users. After
visionpro comes the main event, ios 18 officially debuts. If can summarize this iOS update with one keyword, it would be "personalization".
First of all, ios 18 has a customizable home screen, you are free to place app icons wherever you want.
For example, you can add your favorite wallpapers, applications, and various widgets to the home screen. Moreover, now Apple can also set a new dark appearance mode to match your favorite desktop tone and style.
Moreover, you can also customize the theme color of all app widgets, and ios will automatically recommend matching colors based on the wallpaper style. The upgrade of the
control center also reflects "personalization", and you can slide between multiple controls. is for developers, and iOS has launched a new control API, which supports developers to add apps to the control center. Long swiping can bring up other control items, and the layout and size can be adjusted.
Moreover, in the lock screen state, the original camera and flashlight functions can be replaced with other controls.
In terms of security and privacy, ios 18 also launched personalized settings.
You can lock an application individually and "lock" it. Opening it requires verification, and after locking, the internal information of the application will not appear in other places in the mobile phone system such as search and notifications. Furthermore, you can also hide apps that you don’t want outsiders to know about and put them into a new locked hidden apps folder. Regarding the specific application app of
, iOS 18 has also worked hard on "personalization". This includes the new photos feature, which is officially called ’s “most significant design update to date.”
In the upper part of the gallery, ios 18 continues the previous grid view, which is suitable for browsing all pictures; in the lower part, a new "small album" is added that categorizes pictures by time and theme. In addition, it also includes a series of quick access functions such as facial recognition classification and photo album pinning.
Another most commonly used app, text messages (messages), Apple has added more emoticons in message replies, and will have new formats of bold, underline, strikethrough and italics. Moreover, you can also add special effects to the text.
What Zhibaidao feels is most worth mentioning is that Apple has also added a satellite communication function, which can send information through satellite when there is no Internet connection.The function
has become popular in domestic high-end models. Apple seems to be keeping up with the trend, but no specific details were announced at the press conference, and the specific effects are still unclear.
In other aspects, ios 18 also launched a bunch of detailed updates such as safari, maps, wallets, game modes, etc., so I won’t explain them one by one.
Regarding this update of ios 18, some people complained that it was "the smallest update in the history of ios 18". In this regard, Zhibaidao believes that iOS 18 is no longer the highlight of Apple, so expectations should not be too high. In recent years, we should also get used to Apple's tonality in innovation. If you can optimize the experience on the original basis, you have passed the test.
2 Highlights of other os updates
ios After 18, the conference introduced several major systems such as macos, ipados, tvos and watchos. Zhibaidao selected the important highlights to talk about. Regarding
macos, Apple officially announced macos 15 sequoia.
What is worth paying attention to here is iphone mirroring. Through this function of , you can use a mac to control your phone. For example, with , you can order coffee and add notes, iPhone notifications and audio can be communicated with Mac, and Mac content can also be transferred to iPhone more conveniently. The function of
is indeed very convenient. As you can see in the demonstration, through iPhone mirroring, you can slide the screen like operating a mobile phone, and you can even type on the mobile phone through a Mac keyboard.
In addition, macos 15 sequoia also adds a cross-platform passwords application, which can store a variety of new types of account information, including wi-fi passwords, keys, verification codes and shared passwords. In the future, it will be available on ios, ipad, and mac. , visionos and windows.
ipados 18 also has a major update, which is that it finally introduces a calculator and adds a math note system.
The new system supports functions such as recognition of handwritten formulas, automatic solution, and automatic function curve animation. You can use pencel to directly handwrite mathematical calculations, and then directly help you calculate the results. It can even help you calculate complex formulas, and can understand all inequalities. variable changes.
For example, if you use Apple Pencil to write a mathematical expression, after writing the equal sign, the calculator will automatically calculate the result. If you modify the expression, the results will be updated in real time.
Moreover, the new function also supports more complex calculations, such as a physics question, the highest height that a table tennis ball can reach when it is hit at different angles and speeds.
You just write the numbers for the various variables in your math notes, and the calculator can do the calculations directly in the formula. Write a function expression and click the equal sign to draw a function curve directly. Adjust the variables and the function curve changes accordingly.
Moreover, in terms of handwriting, the system uses machine learning to imitate your handwriting to make writing more natural. At the same time, it also supports one-click generation of handwritten notes, spelling check, proofreading and error correction for content typed on the keyboard.
To sum up, Zhibaidao feels that Apple has some bright spots in the updates of the six major systems, but not too much. It is mainly about the improvement of some details and experience. Therefore, many Apple fans who stayed up late to watch the press conference fell asleep soon after complaining, and some have even booked a hot search for "Criticizing Apple".
The finale of apple intelligence saved Apple.
3 Apple AI debuts, Siri is reborn
Compared with other manufacturers, Apple does not place too much emphasis on the grand concept of AI mobile phones, but focuses AI on specific application scenarios. For
word processing, Apple Intelligence has launched the "Priority Notification" function.
After turning on this function, the system can sort the notification content according to the importance. The most important information, such as the email containing the user's flight boarding pass, will be displayed at the top.
However, Apple did not explain the criteria for determining "important information". It may be based on the user's usage habits, the frequency of app use, or the ability to understand natural language.Of course,
word processing cannot be separated from writing. Apple Intelligence has also launched a system-wide writing tool. The application scope covers emails, memos, pages and various third-party applications. Users can expand, proofread and summarize in various application scenarios. text, and you can also adjust the tone of your words or get suggestions for smart replies. For
image processing, apple intelligence introduced the genmoji and inmage wand functions.
The former can generate pictures and emoticons that best suit your needs based on your description, and can also be customized according to the characters in the album. Currently, it only supports three styles: sketch, cartoon and illustration; the latter can help users convert rough sketches into Convert hand-drawn sketches into more beautiful pictures, or directly implement Vincentian drawings.
Here Zhibaidao needs to point out that comparing the effects in actual demonstrations with other large models such as stable diffusion, there is still a certain gap in the capabilities of Apple Intelligence.
In addition, Apple Intelligence also supports functions such as removing distractors from photos and using natural language to search for images and videos. For example, if you want to find a document sent last week, a photo with your girlfriend, etc., just say it and the system will automatically search for it.
Regarding voice calls, Apple Intelligence can automatically generate summaries of the recording content, summarize phone recordings, etc. Although the function of seems very ordinary, Zhibaidao believes that it can solve a pain point of Apple users and is very practical.
It should be pointed out that when using this function, the other party on the phone will receive a notification. In terms of
privacy protection, apple intelligence provides two solutions. First of all, large model functions that can be run in the terminal will only be run through the terminal side AI. Apple only collects information in the terminal, but will not transmit it to the cloud. Most AI functions can be completed on the device side, which is mainly due to Apple's super-powerful chip.
Secondly, if it is so complicated that you must use the cloud model, in order to ensure cloud use and information security, Apple has created private cloud computing. These models will run on servers they specially created using Apple silicon, so they also have strong privacy protection features.
Craig Fedrighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, said, "The data uploaded to the cloud will never be stored, and even Apple cannot access it. The data is only used to execute requests."
compares the recent incident of Microsoft recall being cracked by hackers. Apple’s solutions to privacy protection are more complete.
and above are Apple Intelligence's AI capabilities, which will be provided for free with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
If Apple stops here, Zhibaidao believes that this press conference can only be considered barely passing, but Apple still has a big move, which is to join forces with chatgpt to conduct a new upgrade of Siri, and Siri 2.0 officially debuts.
In fact, when Siri was first launched, Jobs regarded it as a product that could subvert the industry. He believed that Siri's intelligent voice interaction could make people's lives more convenient and bring people closer to technology.
As we all know, for many years, Jobs's vision has not been realized.
Today, Jobs' dream has seen hope of coming true, because Apple and openai have reached an in-depth cooperation intention. The gpt-4o model released not long ago has been fully integrated into Siri.
You can use most of the features of this model for free without creating an account. With the support of gpt-4o, Siri has been qualitatively improved.
First of all, in terms of appearance, when Siri is talking, a halo will surround the edge of the screen, which looks very sci-fi.
In terms of response, Siri truly has an "intelligent" feel. In the conversation, even with the new continuous conversation function, Siri can naturally understand the contextual content. Moreover, Siri can arrange the "semantic index library" based on the user's photos, calendars, files, emails and other information to achieve more intelligent information search and extraction.
For example, if the user needs to fill in the driver's license number in a document, Siri can call the driver's license picture in the album and automatically fill in the number into the document.
Moreover, Siri can also support cross-application operation. For example, if you want to find a photo of a certain person, after Siri finds it, it can retouch and optimize the photo according to your instructions, and then put it into the profile of the corresponding person in the designated memo. As the application that has benefited the most from
, it is not an exaggeration to say that Siri has been reborn with this update.
In the future, Apple said it will launch more new features for Siri next year, including screen awareness capabilities that allow Siri to understand the content of the display and allow Siri to take actions in applications on behalf of the user. Does
feel a bit like the artificial intelligence butler "Jarvis" in Iron Man?
said at the end
In fact, in Zhibaidao’s view, a series of AI functions such as text summary, image generation, photo search, AI intelligent assistant, etc. at this Apple conference have been already available on Android phones. Intelligence Apple’s innovation Sex is not high.
Moreover, how much progress Apple will make in AI in the future depends largely on openai. With Apple's style, if it can handle it itself, it will never embrace others, not to mention that OpenAI is inextricably linked to its old rival Microsoft.
But despite this, compared to its competitors, Apple's advantage lies in the combination of software and hardware, and it has absolute control over its own system ecosystem. can better integrate AI with the system's original apps or functions, giving users a more seamless and natural experience.
has a good system experience and has always been Apple’s trump card.
Finally, it should be pointed out that Apple Intelligence is still in the state of internal development and testing and will not be open to developers before this fall. At present, Apple Intelligence only supports English. Some functions, more languages and platform support will have to wait until next year. Domestic users still need to be patient. wait. After the
press conference, faced with the powerful combination of Apple + openai, Musk launched a "bombardment", bluntly saying that "Apple is not smart enough to make its own AI, but it thinks it can ensure that openai protects your security and privacy. This is obviously It's ridiculous! "
He even said that he would ban Apple devices in his company.
Apple CEO Cook also tweeted, saying "Apple Intelligence is the next chapter of Apple AI."
Apple has finally embraced AI. Zhibaidao is willing to call it "catching up", but it is far from leading its opponents. On the road to AI mobile phones, everyone is rushing ahead, and Apple is undoubtedly one of the strongest players.
