Apple to Unveil 'Project Greymatter' AI Tools at WWDC 2024 [Gurman]

Apple is planning to unveil new 'Project Greymatter' AI tools at WWDC 2024, according to a report from Mark Gurman. The set of tools will integrate into core apps including Safari, Photos, and Notes.

For less intensive tasks, AI features will run entirely on device; however, if a feature requires more compute, the task will be pushed to the cloud where Apple will use servers power by its M2 Ultra chip to deliver results.

Apple will try to convince customers that it can do this while keeping their data safe and secure. The company will purportedly stress that it is not building profiles of customers, unlike Google and Meta.


Here are some of the new AI features rumored for iOS 18:
• Transcription: Transcribe voice memos.
• Photo Editing: AI-powered photo retouching.
• Enhanced Search: Faster and more reliable Spotlight searches.
• Improved Safari Search: Enhanced web search capabilities.
• Smart Replies: Automatic suggestions for replies to emails and text messages.
• Siri Upgrade: More natural-sounding interactions and advanced features for on-the-go tasks on Apple Watch.
• Developer Tools: AI enhancements in Xcode.
• Generative AI for Emojis: Create custom emojis based on user texts.
• Smart Recaps: Summarize missed notifications, individual text messages, web pages, news articles, documents, notes, and other media.

Notably, Apple does not have an AI chatbot ready for iOS 18. It's likely the company will integrate one or more third party bots in iOS 18 with the most likely contender being ChatGPT.

The company has held talks with both Google and OpenAI about integrating their chatbots into iOS 18. In March, it seemed like Apple and Google were nearing an agreement, and people on both sides felt like something could be hammered out by WWDC. But Apple ultimately sealed the deal sooner with OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, and their partnership will be a component of the WWDC announcement.

Gurman believes Apple is still working to hash out a deal to offer Google Gemini as an option; however, that likely won't be showcased in June. The integration of a third party chatbot will buy Apple some time until it can unveil its own offering.


Finally, Gurman says that Apple will not be able to leapfrog its competition in terms of AI capabilities and will still be playing catchup. It may even label the new features as a 'preview'. However, the company's large install base will turn it into a major AI player overnight.

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