Apple announces new strategy Project Greymatter, plans to integrate AI tools into core applications such as Safari and Photos

Apple is about to unveil its new strategy in the field of artificial intelligence at the Worldwide Developers Conference next month. The core of this strategy is Project Greymatter, which aims to integrate artificial intelligence tools into core applications such as Safari, Photos, Notes, and enhance operating system functions such as the notification system. These new features will run mainly on the device to handle less computationally intensive tasks, while more complex tasks will be pushed to the cloud. iOS 18 and macOS 15 will include software to more intelligently decide whether tasks are processed locally or in the cloud. The iPhone, iPad and Mac chips launched last year will support most of the features on the device, while the cloud components are powered by the M2 Ultra chip in the data center. This year, Apple is developing several new features, including voice memo transcription, AI retouching photos, Spotlight search optimization, improved Safari web search, automatic replies to emails and text messages, etc. At the same time, Siri will also be upgraded to provide a more natural interaction experience based on Apple's own large language model. Siri on Apple Watch will also be more advanced and handle mobile tasks. Developer tools including Xcode will also receive AI enhancements. One notable feature is generative AI for emojis, allowing custom emojis to be created on the fly based on the content of text messages sent by users. In addition, the iPhone's home screen will also be revamped, allowing users to customize the color and layout of app icons. Smart summary technology will also be introduced to provide users with summaries of notifications they missed, personal text messages, and web pages, news articles, documents, notes and other forms of media. In the process, Apple must reassure consumers of its commitment to privacy. For years, Apple has emphasized the benefits of on-device processing and how it can better protect data security. Despite sending potentially sensitive information to data centers, Apple will emphasize that its cloud-based AI capabilities will remain private. To explain the shift, Apple may emphasize that it will not build customer profiles, a practice that Google and Meta Platforms Inc. have been criticized for. At the same time, Apple may highlight the security features of its M-series chips, although this may not be enough to win over all privacy advocates. (Bloomberg)