All about the native integration of ChatGPT on iPhones starting with iOS 18
At the last WWDC 2024, new Apple operating systems were presented, including iOS 18. One of its great novelties is in the area of artificial intelligencewhere the company has integrated several of its own models which they call Apple Intelligence and which include a new Siri.
Apple also announced a agreement with OpenAIwhich is the company behind ChatGPT. This agreement, which will also cost nothing to either party, simply means that there will be quick access to the chatbot without having to have the app installed. However, it is not exactly the same as Apple Intelligence.
Differences between ChatGPT and Apple Intelligence
It’s worth starting with an explanation of what Apple Intelligence is and where ChatGPT is located. The first is nothing more than the Apple Language Model Suite (LLM) which includes a host of features with Siri at the centre. The assistant, apart from accepting natural language input, is also able to understand context.
For example, if we have a plane ticket in the inbox of the email app, we can ask the assistant what time the flight leaves and/or what time we should leave home. Siri is capable of searching for this information in all our applications and giving us the exact data.
On the other hand, ChatGPT is still the same ChatGPT that we already know. It is based on GPT-4o, which is the most advanced model of OpenAI. And although this is already available in the iPhone app, the truth is that it is limited if you do not pay a subscription, while on iPhones you can resolve any request without limits and without having to pay anything.
There’s also differences in data processing, since ChatGPT runs entirely on OpenAI servers, while Apple Intelligence is largely based on local processing and only part of it goes to cloud servers. And on these servers the information disappears, since Apple does not store data and it travels encrypted, so it is ultimately more secure and private overall than ChatGPT.
How ChatGPT comes to the iPhone
Continuing with the above, it should be noted that ChatGPT and Apple Intelligence will be used for different situations. The Apple models are the ones that will appear whenever we use Siri, having their great asset in the integration with the system and the apps to obtain all kinds of information. In ChatGPT, however, we find a chatbot whose great advantage over Apple Intelligence is the ability to generate texts.
A example of use is that it is aimed at specialization in certain areas where Apple Intelligence does not reach. For example, thanks to specialized GPTs, we will be able to access very specific information in fields of medicine, architecture or other areas in which ChatGPT is already trained.
To invoke ChatGPT you will have to click on the bottom bar of the iPhone. Similarly, Siri can also suggest using it when a request is being made that ChatGPT is not capable of executing.
What will happen in all cases is that iOS will warn that we will be accessing an external service and we will have to give our permissionApple supports the integration of quick access to ChatGPT, but is not responsible for the models being different. Therefore, for privacy and data processing purposes, OpenAI is responsible.
Also noteworthy is the idea of be able to deactivate ChatGPT if we wish. It will be in a new settings panel in which we can prevent other AI models other than Apple’s from being integrated. Because yes, ChatGPT is only the first and others are expected to arrive, although we will see that later in this article.
Which iPhone will have native ChatGPT
Here there is a similarity with the models compatible with Apple Intelligence, since they are the same. They are only these two:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
It is expected that the iPhone 16, which is expected to be launched in September, will also be compatible with this option. We cannot even rule out that they are models lower than the 15 Pro for the future, but at the moment this is not the case and, as we will see in a future section, this generates controversy.
When will native ChatGPT be released to iPhone
At the moment there are no closed dates for this implementation. Apple has already warned that its new AI functions They will arrive first in the United States and in English. It is not known if it can be used with a VPN or with a United States ID if we are in another region.
In any case, for it to reach other languages we will have to wait at least until 2025, which is what Apple confirmed when talking about Apple Intelligence. And no, as we saw previously, the Apple model is not the same as ChatGPT, but so far everything indicates that one will not be available before the other.
Controversies with native ChatGPT on the iPhone
By virtue of all of the above, different controversies have been generated with the arrival of ChatGPT to the iPhone. The one that is faster https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1800266437677768765. And the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) harshly criticized this integration and threatened Apple with banning its systems in its companies for integrating ChatGPT. However, as we mentioned previously, ChatGPT can be blocked in the settings, so there will no longer be problems for Musk and other skeptics.
Where we do find a red-hot controversy is in the fact that ChatGPT does not reach iPhones prior to the 15 Pro. And the reason why Apple Intelligence will not reach other devices is that only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max have adapted hardware (basically in the processor and RAM). However, ChatGPT runs on OpenAI servers and there should be no limitations on it as there are no limitations on its use in the app now. However, Apple has not yet expressed the idea of extending it.
The same happens with the language issue. It can be understood that Apple Intelligence is not yet fully prepared to work in other languages, but ChatGPT has been working perfectly in languages like Spanish for some time. Therefore, it would be reasonable to think that it could arrive now and then Apple Intelligence be added when it is ready, but it will not happen and this seems to respond more to a commercial policy. Apple must prefer to integrate everything together or nothing, since perhaps they believe that adding integration with a third party first could lose interest in their own model.
The other big question is knowing whether or not it will reach European Union territories. It has recently been known that Apple wants to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and with the integration of its models and native access to ChatGPT they could not comply. Therefore, at the expense of seeing what happens with this, it seems that in the old continent it will take us even longer to enjoy all these new features.
What other external AI models could come to the iPhone
When the Apple and OpenAI agreement was just a rumor, many believed that perhaps ChatGPT would be the epicenter of Apple’s new AI, but we have already seen that it is not. The idea that Californians have is that of turn iPhones into a kind of launcher for AI models. On the one hand, with its own models and on the other, integrating quick access to others such as ChatGPT, although always making it clear to the user that they are accessing third-party systems.
That is why it is known that Apple also negotiates with Google and it is understood that the idea is to integrate Gemini in a similar way to ChatGPT. There has also been talk of Apple talking to Meta, although in recent reports this has been ruled out and it is said that it was really the company led by Mark Zuckerberg that sought an approach with Tim Cook’s company.
Therefore, and despite ChatGPT being the only one announced, it is not ruled out that in the coming months and years We are given the possibility of accessing other AI models apart from OpenAI and Apple. It is not known whether with identical limitations in terms of compatible devices, but it is an open secret that this will end up happening.
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