iOS 18 rumored to bring AI to Siri, Messages and Notes in new report

We already know that Apple is planning major AI announcements for iOS 18 at WWDC, but a new report has given us a clearer view of what that could look like.

AppleInsider shared new details on AI-related features for iOS 18, including new features for Siri, Messages, Notes, and photo editing. The AI-powered feature set, internally dubbed “Greymatter,” focuses on “practical benefits for the end user,” the outlet said. This involves integrating AI features into existing apps and services with the aim of creating a seamless experience that Apple users can easily adopt.

Apple’s AI-based features are believed to be largely powered by its Ajax LLM, but a rumored deal with OpenAI also means iOS 18 could have ChatGPT-related features. This may include multimodal capabilities for generating and recognizing videos, which Ajax apparently does not have. Apple is expected to support AI features on-device, but given the large computing demands of generative AI (as well as the partnership with OpenAI), some features could move to the cloud.

Major update reported by Siri

One of the biggest announcements expected at WWDC is a massive overhaul of Apple’s voice assistant, Siri. New reports from AppleInsider Let’s say this could include something called “Greymatter Catch Up”, which would allow users to request a summary of recent notifications by calling Siri.

The voice assistant is generally expected to become much smarter and be able to integrate with other apps to incorporate calendar events, locations, and dates into its notification summaries. Apple is also reportedly testing “more natural” voices, which hopefully don’t sound too much like those of celebrities, following OpenAI’s Scarlett Johansson debacle.

Smart replies could come to Messages, Siri and Mail

As for the summary features that would be available in iOS 18 apps, new reports indicate that this could include something called “smart replies”, which recommends messages and email drafts generated by the LLM d ‘Apple. This could be similar to Google’s existing features in Gmail and Docs which have received a generative AI boost.

Notes and voice memos could get an AI boost

The Notes and Voice Memo apps are useful for jotting down ideas or recording conversations. Until now, these have been fairly simple tools that just capture what you don’t want to forget. But with iOS 18, they could get significant upgrades. The revamped Siri is rumored to provide summaries or transcriptions of notes or voice memos. Additionally, recordings, transcriptions, and summaries would be included in the Notes app.

The Notes app can also have functionality specifically for solving math equations, through integration with the Calculator app. Apple probably has more advanced calculations in mind, but an automated tip generator would be a godsend.

Apple could catch up with Google’s Magic Eraser and other photo editing tools

Apple is reportedly working on a custom emoji generator for iOS 18 and AI-powered features for the Photos app. It is not known if this is related, but AppleInsider explained how photo editing software on iOS 18 and macOS 15 could come with new generative AI features.

This includes the ability to “clean” photos by removing background objects and optionally generate images, according to references to an internal-use application “Generative Playground.”

It’s worth noting that Google Pixel has had a similar tool in the form of Magic Eraser for a while now, so Apple would be catching up with enthusiastic iPhone users.

Apple’s AI image generation tools could include integration with Messages, although details beyond that are unknown.

The sources are credible, but all these rumors and expected announcements are subject to change. Apple loves to keep us on our toes, and we won’t know for sure until June 10, when Tim Cook and co. to get on stage.