Apple’s new software update across eligible Apple devices includes a number of improvements to Apple Intelligence. This blog covers what business owners should know about these features.
The Five Most-Key Takeaways from This Blog Post
- A major feature is Live Translation, which can help people cross language barriers. In Messages, FaceTime, and Phone communications, users can use on-device A.I. that translates communications in real time.
- Visual intelligence allows users to ask ChatGPT about what is onscreen, along with using Google, Etsy, and other apps to search for more info. This expands from the feature’s initial capability of analyzing what the user points the phone camera at.
- For orders from merchants and delivery carriers, Apple Intelligence can summarize tracking information from emails so that users get a quick summary of tracking details.
- Foundation Models allows developers to directly access the foundation model of Apple Intelligence.
- Genmoji and Image Playground are making progress, though neither are anywhere near the capabilities of competitors’ publicly available image-generation models.
The Significance for Business Owners
The iOS 26 features will be nice, but not really a game changer for Apple.
Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini suite on Android devices like the Pixel lineup is making it ever-more tempting for this iPhone user to jump ship to Team Android Phone. (Isn’t tribalistic brand loyalty just an absolute hoot to partake in?)
Nonetheless, despite it being public knowledge that Apple has been struggling to even catch up to competitors in the A.I. race, people are still buying up iPhones and Macbooks and iPads and, yes, Apple Watches.
Why? Well, the Apple ecosystem is tough to break out of once you have taken a bite out of the apple, so to speak.
Are we not too far off from being a majority-Android society in the U.S.A., given Google’s head start in the A.I. race? Probably not, but perhaps it is too soon to say. In five years’ time, the A.I. features on, say, the comparable Google Pixel may be much more advanced than those on iPhones, and so start tempting users away from the now-dominant Apple.
Probably not, partly because the Apple brand is so well entrenched in consumer consciousness–and, as Android diehards would be loath to admit and would perhaps just deny, Apple does make great devices for general users.
For business owners, this means that many of their employees will likely still be using Apple devices for the foreseeable future. That entails access to the Apple Intelligence features mentioned in the Key Takeaways section above.
Elephant in the Room: Is Apple Finally Catching Up in the A.I. Race?
It does not really seem to be the case, unfortunately.
However, it would be unwise to outright dismiss Apple Intelligence just because it is not as powerful or varied as the offerings of, say, Google with the Gemini suite.
For instance, the “visual intelligence” feature, which is Apple’s answer to Circle to Search, is fairly strong.
But the lag in the race is still noticeable, perhaps most glaringly in the realm of generative A.I.
Summarized notifications of tracking details is nice, sure. However, Image Playground’s restriction of outputs to basically one style, as well as fairly limited creativity, is proof in the Apple pudding that the company is failing to nail the wildly creative A.I. that other companies make available to users with or without an Apple device.
The Last (But Not Least) Key Takeaway from This Blog Post
Business owners should encourage workers with Apple products to use Apple Intelligence features, which includes helpful A.I. writing tools.
However, the tide may be changing for A.I.-first companies, as Google devices and Copilot PCs may end up offering better native on-device A.I. features may incentivize a migration from Apple devices to the competition for workers whose worklives are largely digital.
That being said, since Apple devices can certainly still access competitors’ A.I. in web browsers, desktop clients, and apps, there is still plenty of A.I. uses for employees with Apple devices, who, as it turns out, can use all that A.I. plus Apple Intelligence.
Other Great GO AI Blog Posts
GO AI the blog offers a combination of information about, analysis of, and editorializing on A.I. technologies of interest to business owners, with especial focus on the impact this tech will have on commerce as a whole.
On a usual week, there are multiple GO AI blog posts going out. Here are some notable recent articles:
- For Businesses and Other Organizations, What Makes a Successful Chatbot?
- IBM Watson vs. ChatGPT vs. Gemini: How Will Each Affect Search Engines?
- Using A.I. to Find Resources for Business Owners
- How Would Restricting Open-Source A.I. Affect Business Owners?
- The EU’s A.I. Act Has Become Law: The Implications for Business Owners (Especially American)
In addition to our GO AI blog, we also have a blog that offers important updates in the world of search engine optimization (SEO), with blog posts like “Google Ends Its Plan to End Third-Party Cookies”.
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