We're not late to the game: Tim Cook defends Apple's AI strategy - excerpts

Apple views Apple Intelligence as a core part of its product and is not currently planning on charging for artificial intelligence-powered features, said Tim Cook in an interview with Wired

Apple has made a significant push into artificial intelligence by introducing a suite of AI features, collectively branded as Apple Intelligence, as the headline feature of its new generation products, including the iPhone 16 series, MacBooks, and iPads.

 

However, some see Apple playing catch-up with competitors like Google, Samsung, and Microsoft that are offering AI-powered features in their products for nearly a year.

 

Tim Cook defends Apple’s strategy in his interview with news outlet Wired. Moreover, Apple's chief executive officer shared his vision for the future of Apple Intelligence. He also discussed Apple’s partnership with OpenAI and the role of AI in advancing health-related features.

 

Key takeaways from Cook’s interview with Wired:

 

Apple Intelligence

 

Tim Cook said Apple “wanted to innovate in such a way that things would be personal and private.” He added that the company thought in a “way that was classic Apple” to deliver features that could benefit users and enhance their lives.

 

Cook said Apple Intelligence is an essential part of its product and that the company has not yet considered making it a subscription-based service. “We never talked about charging for it. We view it sort of like multitouch, which enabled the smartphone revolution and the modern tablet,” he said.

Responding to a question about a potential open ecosystem where third-party services could access user data from native Apple apps to offer a more personalised AI system, Cook said the company will always consider “privacy implications” first. While not denying the idea, he emphasised that Apple will not accept a “trade-off between great privacy and great intelligence.”

 

Partnership with OpenAI

 

Cook described Apple’s partnership with the Microsoft-backed AI startup OpenAI as a way to cater to some customers who “would want access to world knowledge,” something Apple Intelligence currently cannot provide. He added that Apple has integrated OpenAI’s services in a way that respects users’ ability to choose what they want to share.

 

While Cook clarified that Apple is not considering investing in OpenAI, he said, “I’m not going to say we never looked at it.” On the possibility of Apple building its own large language model (LLM), he declined to predict.

 

AI in health

 

Cook discussed how Apple could use health and biometric data collected through its ecosystem products with AI to diagnose medical conditions in real time. While there is nothing to announce yet, he said the company has ongoing research in this area. “We’re pouring all of ourselves in here, and we work on things that are years in the making,” he added.

 

Future of Vision Pro

 

Apart from AI, Cook discussed the Vision Pro, Apple’s latest mixed-reality headset. He described it as an “early adopter product,” aimed at those who want tomorrow’s technology today.

 

Although Cook did not confirm whether Apple is considering a smart-glass-like product, he hinted at changes in form factor being a natural progression over time. “We’ll see where it goes,” he said.