Apple finally added ChatGPT to the iPhone. There's no guarantee it’ll boost sales

Apple finally added ChatGPT to the iPhone. There’s no guarantee it’ll boost sales

Posted by Admin December 19, 2024 Bussiness

Apple (AAPL) has released its second set of Apple Intelligence AI features for the iPhone, iPad, and macOS. The latest updates include a raft of long-awaited capabilities, including ChatGPT integration and Apple’s visual intelligence, which allows you to get information about the world around you using your iPhone’s camera.

Available via iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2, the upgrades are part of Apple’s effort to goose iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales and compete with Android (GOOG, GOOGL) rivals in the US like Samsung — as well as those in China such as Xiaomi and Huawei.

I’ve been using iOS 18.2 for a few weeks now, and the update certainly delivers on a number of big promises, including making accessing ChatGPT far easier than using an app and providing new ways of searching for things by pointing your phone’s camera at an object and asking a question about it.

But it’s difficult to tell if this latest batch of AI services is enough to get consumers to pony up for the latest iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Here’s what it’s like to use the latest version of Apple Intelligence and what you can expect when you fire it up on your own.

Apple’s Siri has always been lacking in the intelligence department. Ask the digital helper a question, and chances are it’ll tell you it can’t answer it or will pull up a list of links to different web pages.

With the addition of ChatGPT, however, your iPhone can finally answer your most pressing questions with ease. At least most of the time.

To pull up ChatGPT, you simply hold down your phone’s side button and can then either ask Siri to ask ChatGPT a question or simply say “ChatGPT” and then ask your query. I asked ChatGPT about Nvidia’s stock performance over the year, and it explained that it is up more than 165% and pointed to several reasons why it’s done so well, such as high demand for its powerful AI processors. But it also pointed out turbulence for the company, including China’s antitrust probe.

The latest Apple Intelligence update includes ChatGPT, which you can access via Siri. (Image: Howley) · Howley

Apple Intelligence will also choose whether to use Siri or ChatGPT to answer users’ questions. When it does this, it will provide you with a prompt asking if you’re sure you want to use ChatGPT.

Apple says OpenAI won’t get access to your information when you use ChatGPT unless you sign into your free account for the service. At that point, OpenAI’s data policies will apply. Apple also adds the ability to sign up for ChatGPT Plus to get access to more messages via GPT-4o and other advanced models for $19.99 per month.

Getting ChatGPT on your phone is absolutely helpful if you’re the kind of person who loves the service, but I don’t feel like it’s an essential part of the smartphone experience quite yet. Still, being able to use the software at the push of a button is far more convenient than the standalone app or website.

Two of the more lighthearted additions to Apple Intelligence are Genmoji and Image Playground. The features allow you to create custom emojis and images that you can send directly in texts or as replies and tapbacks. What’s more, you can incorporate photos of yourself, your friends, and your family in both Image Playground images and Genmojis.

I, for instance, was able to make a Genmoji of myself holding a beer. My wife, on the other hand, made an Image Playground image of me eating peanut butter. And while the Genmoji of me drinking looked pretty decent, the Image Playground image looked far less flattering. I’m talking about a giant head and bizarre teeth.

Genmojis of others, like my brother and my friends, though, looked spot-on.

Making Genmojis and images is certainly fun, but it’s not something that you’re going to use every day. They’re simply silly options for responding to friends’ messages or playfully bothering your spouse throughout the day. But since Google and Samsung have similar offerings, Apple would be missing an opportunity if it didn’t include the features in its AI software bundle.

This is Apple’s answer to Google’s Circle to Search. Visual intelligence allows you to use your iPhone’s camera to look up information about real-world items. That includes finding out more about plants and animals you see around you, looking up where you can buy clothes or shoes you notice while out for a stroll, or just trying to learn more about your surroundings.

There’s just one catch: You can only use visual intelligence if you’ve got an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro. That’s because they’re the only devices that feature Apple’s Camera Control, a button on the side of the iPhone that allows you to quickly fire up the Camera app. Lightly pressing Camera Control brings up photo options like different camera filters, zoom levels, and other settings.

Apple Intelligence also includes the company's new visual intelligence, which allows you to ask ChatGPT or Google questions about the world around you. (Image: Howley) — Apple Intelligence also includes the company’s new visual intelligence, which allows you to ask ChatGPT or Google questions about the world around you. (Image: Howley) · Howley

To launch visual intelligence, you simply long-press the Camera Control button until you see the same multicolor ring around the screen that pops up when you call upon Siri. From there, you’re met with a screen with an Ask button on the left that allows you to access ChatGPT, a shutter button in the middle, and a Search button on the right to look up images via Google.

I’ve used ChatGPT to ask about plants in my office and what it looks like I do for a living based solely on my computer setup — and it not only told me that we’ve got fiddle leaf figs, but that I’m likely a financial journalist. In another instance, I used the Google option to look up where to buy a porcelain dinosaur tchotchke in my office, and it told me to check out Pinterest.

Apple Intelligence is meant to get consumers out shopping for new iPhones again. And while the features are helpful in their own right, I don’t see them driving large swaths of people to grab the companies’ latest phones.

Generally speaking, consumers are interested in hardware upgrades like larger displays, better batteries, and improved cameras rather than software changes. Still, Apple Intelligence is only a few months old, and the company has big plans to continue rolling out additions to the platform throughout 2025.

Which means we’ll still have to wait to see if these latest updates, and Apple’s planned future ones, make a difference in sales. In the long run, though, it’s hard to bet against Apple.