This week, OpenAI announced that apps can now run directly inside ChatGPT, allowing users to book trips, create playlists, and edit designs without having to switch between different apps. something immediately announced Future App Platform – predicts a ChatGPT-powered world where Apple’s App Store will become obsolete.
But while OpenAI’s app platform presents an emerging threat, Apple’s vision for an improved Siri — though still severely delayed — could still play in its favor.
After all, Apple already controls the hardware, the operating system Roughly speaking There are 1.5 billion iPhone users globally, compared to ChatGPIT’s 800 million weekly active users. If Apple’s gambit is successful, it could position the iPhone maker in a way that not only continues its dominance in the app industry, but also modernizes how we use apps in the AI age.
Apple plans to eliminate app icons without killing the app itself. Its vision for AI-powered computing – introduced at its developer conference last year – will see iPhone users interact with a modified version of Siri and a revamped system that will change the way you use apps on your phone. (Imagine less tapping and more conversation.)
Apps have become old, will the apps last longer?
This is an idea whose time has come.
Arranging small tappable icons on your iPhone’s home screen to make online information more accessible is an old metaphor for computing. Apps that resemble miniature versions of a computer’s desktop are becoming a less common way for users to interact with many of their favorite online services.
These days, consumers are just as likely to ask an AI assistant for recommendations or information as they are to perform a Google search or launch a dedicated, single-purpose app like Yelp. They will talk out loud with their smarts speakers or bluetooth-connected AirPods To play their favorite tunes; They’ll ask the chatbot for business information or a summary of reviews of a new movie or show.
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A big language model, trained on AI, web-scraped data and more, determines what the user wants to know and responds.
This is much easier than scouring Google’s search results for the correct link with the answer. (This is something Google itself realized a decade ago, when it started putting answers to user questions directly on the search results page.)
AI is often even easier than finding the right app on your cluttered iPhone, launching it, and then interacting with its user interface – which varies from app to app – to perform its task or get the answer to your question.
Although ChatGPT’s app system appears to be an improvement on this model, the ChatGPT user experience remains locked inside. This requires consumers to engage in a chatbot-style interface to use their apps, which may require user education. To call an app, you have to name it as the first word of your prompt or otherwise mention the app’s name to get a button that will prompt you to “Use the app to answer.” Then, you have to type an exact query. (If you mess it up, preliminary test As indicated by Bloomberg, you may be stuck on a loading screen with no results!)
We have to wonder: Is this the future of apps, or just the future when there’s no other competition? When another solution becomes available – one built into your iPhone, will consumers continue to use ChatGPT, or are they still willing to give Siri another try? We don’t know, but we wouldn’t want to count out Apple just yet, even if Siri knows extremely A Bad Prestige To the rescue at this point.
The state of Siri today may be an embarrassment, but there are advantages to Apple’s overall ecosystem. For starters, for consumers is already Apps they want to use on their phone or know how to find them on the App Store, if not. He has used many of these apps over the years. Muscle memory goes a long way!
Meanwhile, there are some hurdles to getting started with ChatGPT’s app platform.
Of course, you’ll need to install the corresponding app; You’ll then have to connect the app to ChatGPT through a permission screen full of warnings. This process requires you to authenticate with the app using your existing username and password, and enter a two-factor authentication code if applicable.
After this one-time setup, things will be simple. For example, after creating a Spotify playlist with AI, it can be launched in the Spotify app with a single tap.
However, this experience won’t be too different from Apple’s plans if Apple is able to deliver as promised. Apple says you’ll be able to talk or text Siri to control your apps.
The OpenAI app model also has other disadvantages. You can only interact with one app at a time, rather than being able to switch back and forth between apps – something that can be useful when comparing prices or trying to decide between a hotel room and Airbnb.
Using apps within ChatGPT also removes the branding, design, and identity that consumers associate with their favorite apps. (For those who hate how disorganized Spotify has become an app, maybe this is a good thing. However, others will disagree.) And, in some cases, using the mobile app version to meet your goals may still be easier than using the ChatGPS app version because the former offers the flexibility.
Finally, it may be difficult to force users to switch app platforms when there is no obvious benefit to using the apps within ChatGPT – except for the fact that it’s neat that you can.
Can Apple save Siri’s reputation with AI features?
In its WWDC 2024 presentation — which Apple swears was not “demoware” — the company showed how apps will work under this new system and how they can use other AI features like proofreading.
Most importantly, Apple told developers they’ll be able to take advantage of some of its AI capabilities without having to do extra work — like proofreading or a note-taking app using rewriting tools. Additionally, developers who have already integrated Sirikit They will be able to do more in their apps in terms of giving users actions in their apps. (SiriKit is a toolkit for making apps interoperable with Siri and Apple’s Shortcuts, which developers have been using since iOS 10.)
These developers will see immediate improvements when the new Siri launches.
Apple said it will initially focus on categories like notes, media, messaging, payments, restaurant reservations, VoIP calling and workouts.
Apps in these categories will be able to allow their users to perform actions through Siri. In practice, this means that Siri will be able to invoke any item from an app’s menu. For example, you can ask Siri to view your presenter notes in a slide deck, and your productivity app will respond accordingly.
Apps will also be able to access any text displayed on the page using Apple’s standard text system. This can make app interactions more natural, without requiring the user to specifically prompt or command. For example, if you have a reminder to wish your grandpa a happy birthday, you can say “FaceTime him” to take that action.
apple exists outline of intentions It’s also being updated to gain access to Apple Intelligence, which includes even more apps in categories like Books, Browser, Camera, Document Reader, File Management, Journal, Mail, Photos, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Whiteboards, and Word Processors. Here, Apple is creating new “intents” that are pre-defined, trained, and tested, and making them available to developers.
This means you can ask photo-editing app Darkroom to apply a cinematic filter to an image via Siri. Additionally, Siri will be able to suggest actions for an app, helping iPhone users discover what their apps can do and take those actions.
Developers are adopting the App Intents framework, introduced in iOS 16, as it provides other functionality to integrate their app’s actions and content with other platform features, including Spotlight, Siri, iPhone’s action buttons, widgets, controls, and visual search features – not just Apple Intelligence.
Furthermore, unlike ChatGPT, Apple runs its own operating system on its own hardware and offers the App Store as a search mechanism, app infrastructure and developer tools, APIs and frameworks – not just an AI-powered interface that will help you use your apps.
Although Apple may have to borrow some AI technology from others to do this, it has the data to personalize your app recommendations, and, for the privacy-minded, controls that let you limit how much information the apps themselves can collect. (We wonder where the “Do Not Track” option is for ChatGPT’s app system?)
OpenAI’s system doesn’t work with all your apps at launch. It requires developer adoption and relies on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a new technology for connecting AI assistants to other systems. That’s why ChatGPT currently only works with a handful of apps, like Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva. Adoption of MCP is growing, but the delay in its widespread adoption may give Apple additional time to catch up.
What’s more, the news is that Apple’s AI system is almost ready. The company is reportedly already testing it internally, allowing users to take actions in apps using Siri voice commands. Bloomberg reported that this smart version of Siri works with many apps out of the box, including major apps like Uber, AllTrails, Threads, Teemu, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. And it’s still on the way ship next yearApple confirmed to TechCrunch.
Apple has the iPhone, OpenAI has Jony Ive
The iPhone’s position as an app platform will be difficult to disrupt, even for a company as large and powerful as OpenAI.
The ChatGPT creator also understands this, which is why OpenAI is exploring its own device with Apple’s former design chief, Jony Ive. He wants his AI to become part of consumers’ everyday lives and habits, which might otherwise require hardware devices.
But, reports indicate that so far the company has struggled to think of a better computing paradigm than smartphones. At the same time, the general public has demonstrated Hate AI devices that are always onWhich is against the existing social norms and puts privacy at risk.
AI Response has AI device makers covered Friends’ NYC Subway Postercausing Taylor Swift fans to attack their idol for taking an interest in AI and threatening the reputation of popular consumer brands enterprise business As such, this calls into question the future success of OpenAI devices.
For now, that means OpenAI’s app model is one that essentially focuses on using your app to control other apps.
If Apple gets its Siri upgrade right, that middleman won’t be needed.
