Apple AI outperforms Microsoft in own game

  • mayaskmayask
  • AI
  • September 14, 2024
  • 0 Comments
Apple

Apple

Apple

This story is part of our complete Apple WWDC coverage

“AI for the rest of us.” That’s how Apple Intelligence was described at WWDC 2024, aiming directly at Microsoft’s recently announced Copilot+ PCs. Not to be left behind in the rapidly evolving world of AI, Apple unveiled a suite of features that transform your Mac, as well as your iPhone and iPad, into a true AI-powered computer. Contents

  • New software, not new hardware
  • The ecosystem
  • Real AI features, systemwide
  • What no one wants to talk about
  • AI for the rest of us

Apple isn’t simply following in Microsoft’s footsteps, though.

Microsoft may hold the keys to the AI kingdom with its massive data centers and deep partnership with OpenAI, but Apple is already making significant progress in the AI race. Even before I’ve explored a single feature of Apple Intelligence, I’m confident in saying that it will offer more to users than Copilot+ could ever hope to.

Microsoft

The biggest advantage Apple Intelligence has is that you don’t need to buy a new laptop. While the AI features coming to Copilot+ PCs are exciting, they also require a significant investment of at least $1,000 for a supported laptop. And even when we see a stream of AMD and Intel laptops meeting the requirements for Copilot+, they won’t have the same AI capabilities. Apple’s approach is completely different. You don’t need to spend a dime.

Apple emphasized that its M-series chips, along with the A17 Bionic, already have built-in AI hardware. You don’t need to buy a specific MacBook or trade in your iPhone. Apple has strengthened its hardware stack over the past several years, allowing you to access Apple Intelligence with the devices you already own. Even if Copilot+ comes with better features (spoiler: it doesn’t), the fact that Apple provides these features with the devices you already own is a huge advantage.

Apple

Apple

With Apple Intelligence, you’re not investing in a new, unproven category of device. There’s nothing to lose by engaging with Apple’s AI features, or at the very least, you’re not out any money. If you already have a MacBook, Mac desktop, iPad, or iPhone, you can get Apple Intelligence as a free system update. This approach means you might actually use the AI features that Apple has been working on.

Apple is bringing AI to users, not making them search for it.

There’s no doubt that some early adopters will buy a Copilot+ PC and take advantage of Microsoft’s new AI features. It’ll take months, and maybe even years, before these features become widely adopted. Despite the fact that Apple seems to be late to the AI party, there will be far more users taking advantage of Apple’s AI features right from the start, which is crucial for a technology that still hasn’t shown how it will impact our daily lives.

Apple

Apple

Aside from the fact that Apple Intelligence is a free update, it’s also a free update for three categories of devices. It’s coming to Macs, iPhones, and iPads, and they’ll all work seamlessly together. Copilot+ only works on laptops. Microsoft simply can’t compete, no matter how impressive Copilot+ may be.

Apple’s ecosystem of devices has always been something that the rest of the tech industry has struggled to keep up with. We’ve seen various forms of screen mirroring and notification sharing on Windows from Intel and Microsoft, but none of it comes close to what Apple currently offers – or what it will offer with macOS 15’s iPhone Mirroring feature. Once we bring AI into the mix, Apple has an advantage that Microsoft can’t match no matter how hard it tries.

You can take photos on your iPhone, bring them up with AI search on your Mac, and create new versions on your iPad. These devices working in harmony demonstrate the true power of AI. Apple is bringing AI to users, not asking them to go find it.

Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

On the other hand, Microsoft is doing the exact opposite. You not only need to buy a new laptop, but you also need to buy a laptop that specifically meets the requirements for Copilot+. And, once you have that device, you can only use the AI features on it. Your phone, tablet, and desktop aren’t even part of the equation.

Microsoft

Microsoft

Even from the outset, Apple Intelligence has a significant lead over Copilot+, but that’s before we even consider the actual AI features. With Copilot+, the main feature Microsoft has is Recall. Essentially, it’s an AI-powered search within Windows that allows you to refer to everything you do on your PC, from viewing webpages to sending messages to looking at photos. It joins a few other AI features already available across Windows PCs, such as Copilot on your desktop and in Microsoft Edge, Live Captions, and image generation in Microsoft Paint.

Apple is matching many of these features. Apple Intelligence can proofread and rewrite text, similar to Copilot, and it can generate images like Microsoft Designer. You can use Siri to get answers about your system and troubleshoot, similar to Copilot on your desktop. Apple has a few additional goodies – I’ll talk about them later – but that’s not the point here. The important thing is that Apple Intelligence is available across your entire system.

Apple

Apple

For example, Apple’s writing features work across all of Apple’s apps and third-party apps automatically. You don’t need to copy your text over or write it directly through one of Apple’s first-party apps – Apple Intelligence can pick up on the text wherever you are.

Similarly, Siri has a deeper integration with your apps compared to Recall. Apple introduced the App Intents feature, which isn’t limited to Apple’s own apps. The API is available for any developer to add support in their app. This basically allows Siri to seamlessly transfer information between devices and apps.

As an example, Apple showed Siri filling out a form with your ID info. Instead of searching for the photo, Siri can automatically find the photo, scan it, and enter that information for you. Just like Recall, there’s on-screen awareness with Siri, so you can reference whatever you have pulled up when entering prompts as well.

Apple

Apple

Systemwide access to Apple Intelligence is significant enough, but Apple also has more features. Genmoji allows you to generate an emoji to use as a sticker or within a message. Image Wand can turn a rough sketch into an AI-generated image. You can even ask Apple Intelligence to create a movie from your photos and videos, using a prompt to narrow down which media to use.

Apple undoubtedly has more features, but the big change is that you don’t have to actively seek them out. Microsoft’s approach with Copilot+ is different. You don’t engage with AI throughout your device. You don’t prompt an app to take advantage of AI features.

Apple

Apple

The biggest advantage for Apple in the AI realm, however, is privacy. Apple didn’t shy away from the privacy conversation at WWDC, stating that Apple Intelligence works on your device, so it’s not processed in the cloud. As Apple said during its presentation, in a clear shot at Microsoft: “You should not have to hand over all your details to be processed in someone’s warehouse AI cloud.”

Apple says that the AI features can scale up to the cloud, but they’ll use the Private Cloud Compute architecture. Basically, Apple says that data for these cloud requests is never stored, and that independent security researchers can verify that data isn’t stored. In fact, Apple claims that Intelligence will refuse to communicate with a server if it doesn’t meet this criteria.

Microsoft has also talked about privacy with Copilot+, especially after the backlash it received when Recall was announced. With Copilot+, all of the processing happens on your PC. There are still some features that go to the cloud, such as image generation, but all of your private, sensitive data is kept locally. It seems that Apple and Microsoft are on equal footing when it comes to AI privacy, but they really aren’t.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Apple has the trust of its users. Microsoft doesn’t. This was a point raised by Windows Central’s Zac Bowden about a week ago, who wrote: “Had Apple announced a feature like Recall, there would have been much less backlash, as Apple has done a great job building loyalty and trust with its users… Microsoft, on the other hand, has done a lot to degrade the Windows user experience over the last few years.”

In reality, both Apple and Microsoft have significant privacy and security risks with their AI features, and they’re addressing them in a similar way. Apple Intelligence isn’t necessarily better than Copilot+ in terms of privacy. But when you consider how both companies have historically treated privacy and security, it’s clear that Apple comes out on top.

Apple

Apple

There’s a good reason Apple called Intelligence “AI for the rest of us” at WWDC. Apple is approaching AI as a feature, and nothing more. It’s showing the ways AI can enhance the user experience and make it easier, instead of asking customers to buy a new device, explore uncharted territory with features that have questionable security practices, and constantly check that the privacy conditions are still what they expected.

Microsoft may be at the top of the AI world in some aspects, such as the data center, but when it comes to consumer devices, Apple is outperforming Microsoft in its own game.

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