- New APIs mean developers will be able to run Apple Intelligence tools such as summarization directly on the customer device, all offline, all private.
- Developers that use Apple’s standard text editing/entry views will gain access to improved Apple-developed tools inside their apps without custom-coding.
- Because intelligence takes place on the user’s device, neither developers nor users will need to pay for those AI tokens. This is a distinct cost and privacy-saving advantage for customers and developers.
App Intents: The next generation
Apple continues on its quest to convince developers to make features of their apps available for use via Siri with App Intents. Doing so requires developers to wrap their apps into semantic structures, enabling speech/text-based interaction. To help them achieve this, Apple is expected to introduce a complete redesign of its App Intents framework.
Speak as you wish
While users must say “Hey Siri” to invoke its attention today, the assistant will respond more dynamically to natural language. Combined with App Intents, that means users should be able to ask Siri to use a combination of apps to make things happen on the device.
A developer might build a travel app that can take an itinerary and hand it across to a budgeting tool, for example. The idea is that with a spoken or typed command, a person will be able to call on a collection of apps to identify the destination, create an itinerary, put together a to-do list, prepare relevant letters or emails, and assemble a budget — all invoked by the original command.
What about context?
We’re expecting Siri to become better at using the content of your screen, location, and other personal data as it seeks to provide more contextualized responses. We don’t yet know the extent or form in which Apple will make that information available to third-party developers to help contextualize their own apps. Apple’s focus on privacy matters a great deal, as does its relationship with regulators, some of whom will demand that data made available to Apple’s own apps be made available to third-party apps. These are important matters for Apple, app developers, and customers who want the convenience of AI without loss of privacy.