14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is reportedly working on a new chipset that would support various AI features, including facial and speech recognition, according to Bloomberg. It seems that Apple wishes to bring exciting new features to the market, just like it did when the iPhone 4s was introduced with support for Siri.
Since 2011, when Apple incorporated Siri in the iPhone 4s, other companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Samsung launched their own virtual assistants and some offer more features than Siri. Google Assistant is integrated in a number of devices and will soon receive more features, which the tech giant announced during its Google I/O event earlier this month.
Still, out of all virtual assistants available on the market, Siri speaks the most languages and has even started learning dialects. At the moment, Apple uses the central processing unit and the graphics processing unit in iPhones to handle various processes that use Artificial Intelligence.
A dedicated chipset, designed with AI optimization in mind, would surely increase processing speed and preserve battery life on the device. Apple plans to offer third-party developers access to the upcoming chip, so they can include AI features in their applications.
Apple is betting big on AI
Qualcomm’s latest platform, the Snapdragon 835, already comes with a built-in module for AI, allowing Samsung to run its Bixby virtual assistant on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The recently announced HTC U11 also runs Snapdragon 835, as do a number of premium phones to be announced later this year, including the LG V30.
“Two of the areas that Apple is betting its future on require AI. At the core of augmented reality and self-driving cars is artificial intelligence,” said Gene Munster, former Apple analyst and co-founder of a venture capital firm. The upcoming iPhone 8 is said to feature the new A11 chip and augmented reality.
Presumably, Apple will reveal some details about this new chip during its WWDC event next month, when the company will introduce iOS 11.