Apple Is Gearing Up To Make A Big AI Push In 2024

Apple has been relatively silent about its push into the field of generative AI, while rivals like Google and Microsoft have already pushed it everywhere from Android phones to Windows PCs. However, the company hasn't been sitting idle. Bloomberg reports that Apple has purchased DarwinAI, a company that claims to provide AI-backed "visual quality inspection system" to electronics manufacturers. One of Darwin's lead AI researchers also joined Apple, alongside a bunch of other teammates.

Now, we don't know exactly what product from the Canadian company piqued Apple's interest and how it plans to assimilate DarwinAI's work into its ecosystem. However, DarwinAI's profile on Crunchbase offers some clues, which says "Generative Synthesis 'AI building AI' technology enables optimized and explainable deep learning." It further adds that the company's work "takes the guesswork out of building better A.I." 

Darwin AI claims to have offered its tech to multiple Fortune 500 companies. Given the company's focus area, it is plausible that the tech stack could be used in Apple's production pipeline.

If, and when, Apple brings AI to hardware categories like iPhone and Mac remains a mystery at this point. However, the DarwinAI acquisition isn't the only AI-focused statement that Apple has made in the recent months, and some of its top executives haven't exactly been shy about it either. In February, Apple CEO Tim Cook also mentioned on an earnings call that generative AI features will be released for users in 2024.

In December 2023, Apple quietly released model libraries and frameworks under MLX group that will run on its native silicon, potentially bringing generative AI tricks to the Mac lineup in the same way that Qualcomm is trying to serve with its Snapdragon X Elite platform for Windows on Arm machines. Another Bloomberg report notes that Apple has expanded its internal team tasked with testing generative AI features, with an overarching goal of releasing these tools for developers in 2024. Rumors suggest that Apple's first wave of generative AI features will arrive with iOS 18; scheduled to roll out later this year.

Earlier this year, Apple researchers also detailed a generative AI tool called Keyframer in a paper. This tool essentially allows users to create animation content the way models like Dall-E and Sora make images and videos, respectively. It inherently relies on OpenAI's GPT-4 model, but adds vector graphics into the mix that work on still images. 

Apple's team also released a model paper that details an AI tool which lets users edit images using plain language description. Interestingly, Qualcomm's latest flagship Snapdragon also touts a similar feature that enables voice-assisted media editing. In September, The Information (via The Verge) reported that Apple is working on "foundation models" aimed at improving Siri — supposedly in the same way that Gemini is pushing Google Assistant — and that the company was reportedly burning "millions of dollars" each day on AI training.