Apple iPhones enter AI era with new language tools

Apple iPhone users will be able to swap their contact details simply by waving their phones next to each other, as part of a major update to the phone's software coming out in September, the company said.

The new data-sharing option, known as NameDrop, is one of a slew of new features in the iOS 17 operating system that Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California.

NameDrop lets you choose which details to share, if any, with someone else's iPhone or Apple Watch.

Many of the new features in iOS 17, as well as in Apple's other operating systems, use ChatGPT-style language models to help bring the devices into the generative AI era.

Apple's iOS announcements were part of an array of other announcements at the conference, including a bigger, 15-inch model of the popular MacBook Air; a new, Apple-powered Mac Pro workstation that finally ends Apple's reliance on Intel processors; and (a crowd favourite), FaceTime video calling finally being made available on TVs using the Apple TV set-top box.

Many of the announcements were entirely in line with rumours that have been swirling around for weeks, mostly focusing on the Apple Vision Pro headset that Apple CEO Tim Cook announced at the end of his keynote address.

Indeed, the only conspicuous failure of the Apple rumour industry this year was that nobody mentioned a rumoured, radical change to iOS that would allow users to download apps from app stores and websites other than Apple's own App Store.

But even that rumour might still prove correct. The regulator-mandated app "sideloading" feature on the iPhone would undermine Apple's ability to take a cut of every app purchased for the iPhone, and is barely a new feature Apple would trumpet in its opening address to software developers. It's distinctly possible it will be discussed elsewhere at the conference.

The new 15-inch MacBook Air will be much like the 13-inch model, only with a bigger screen and better speakers.

Other changes to iOS were shown off proudly, however.

The NameDrop contact sharing is an extension of another new feature in iOS 17, known as Contact Posters, that lets iPhone owners create custom screens containing their photo, name and other details that then appear on other people's iPhones when they receive a call or message.

If the recipient doesn't answer the call and the caller leaves a message, another new technology in iOS 17 will use a new machine-learning language model to generate a transcript of the message in real time, fast enough that the recipient still has time to pick up if they decide the call looks important, Apple said.

Another update lets iPhones be used as bedside clocks, or as smart displays similar to Google's Nest Hub.

But the biggest applause from developers at the conference was reserved for the simplest update to iOS. Its photo album, which sorts photos by the people in them, now automatically creates albums for family cats and dogs.

Updates to Apple's watchOS include a new feature that recommends widgets to people wearing the Apple Watch, using machine-learning to decide which widgets are most appropriate at the time.

Meanwhile, a software update for Apple's bluetooth earbuds, the AirPods, will use machine learning to automatically adjust the volume levels on the earbuds when users move in and out of noisy environments.

And, just like Sony earbuds and earphones have been doing for years, AirPods will finally adjust their volume when their wearer starts talking, allowing music listeners to engage in conversation without having to pause their music.

John Davidson is attending WWDC in Cupertino, California, as a guest of Apple.

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