7 AI features the iPhone 17 needs to keep up with Google, OpenAI, and others

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The merchandise of the Google Pixel 10 phones with profoundly integrated AI features that connection awesome caller capabilities has revealed however susceptible the iPhone 17 could be.
• Many of the smartest AI services successful the satellite are already connected the iPhone arsenic apps, and truthful there's the anticipation that Apple could spouse with them for deeper integrations.
• The caller AI camera features successful the Pixel 10 could beryllium the biggest differentiator betwixt it and the iPhone 17.

While the iPhone has virtually each of the smartest AI apps disposable from the latest AI trailblazers, it lacks the benignant of heavy integration of AI features that are lone disposable astatine the intersection of the operating strategy and the latest hardware. That's what we've seen with the rollout of Google's Pixel 10 lineup. 

Here are 7 features from AI leaders that would marque a immense interaction if they were seamlessly embedded astatine the strategy level successful the iPhone 17.

1. ChatGPT's Voice Mode

OpenAI's Voice Mode successful ChatGPT fundamentally works the mode I've ever wanted Siri to enactment connected the iPhone. You conscionable occurrence it up and commencement talking to it successful earthy language, and it tin reply questions, propulsion up information, and adjacent transportation retired a fewer actions. ZDNET's Sabrina Ortiz has explained however to delegate Voice Mode to the iPhone's Action Button to usage it similar a Siri replacement. 

Also: How to usage ChatGPT's Voice Mode (and wherefore you'll privation to)

But Voice Mode -- which is being renamed ChatGPT Voice and is soon rolling retired to escaped users -- is inactive constricted successful the commands it tin transportation retired connected your iPhone. An Apple mentation of this diagnostic oregon a concern with OpenAI could let overmuch deeper integration crossed calendar, email, substance messages, notes, settings, and different operating strategy tasks (with Apple privateness protections successful place). Similarly, Google already has Gemini Live and Microsoft offers Copilot Voice, truthful Apple needs to determination much deliberately to assistance the iPhone support up.

2. Pixel 10's Pro Res Zoom

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

I've written astir the information that I emotion zoom photography and however it's the 1 country wherever telephone cameras inactive autumn down and I person to regularly crook to my Sony mirrorless camera and 70-200mm zoom lens. However, Google has precocious taken a large measurement to capable the spread successful zoom photography successful the Pixel 10 Pro. With its caller Super Res Zoom feature, the Pixel 10 Pro volition capable successful missing information and automatically process a integer zoom representation up to 100x to marque it much usable. 

Also: Pixel conscionable zoomed up of iPhone successful the camera photography race

This brings up a fig of questions astir what makes a photo, and I inactive request to effort it retired connected the Pixel 10 Pro to study backmost connected however good it works, but this feels similar a worthy usage of computational photography. And the lone smartphone shaper that's going to vie with Google connected computational photography is Apple.

3. Google's Magic Cue

Last twelvemonth astatine WWDC 2024, Apple made a large woody astir its Personal Intelligence diagnostic that could recognize your questions and requests due to the fact that it had accusation astir you from your calendar, mail, substance messages, and different information stored privately successful the Apple ecosystem. In the WWDC keynote, Apple utilized examples similar "Pull up the files Joz shared with maine past week" and a real-time alert that a gathering you're astir to reschedule could struggle with giving your kid a thrust to a regular activity. 

Of course, Apple has ne'er shipped this diagnostic -- but present Google has. In the Pixel 10, Google launched Magic Cue, which tin prevention you from having to leap betwixt apps by knowing capable astir you to assistance cue you with info. One illustration it provided was a substance connection wherever idiosyncratic asked you what clip meal reservations were, and Magic Cue presumably utilized info from a Gmail confirmation connection to aboveground the info close successful the messaging app, and the idiosyncratic simply had to pat it to nonstop a response. 

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

Google says this benignant of enactment tin present hap locally connected the instrumentality due to the fact that of the Tensor G5 spot successful the Pixel 10. Still, I deliberation much radical would spot Apple with their privateness connected a diagnostic similar this due to the fact that Apple doesn't marque wealth disconnected of utilizing your information successful opportunistic ways. 

4. Deep Research from Anthropic

One of the biggest ways generative AI saves maine clip is by utilizing it arsenic a probe assistant. Several of the AI apps present connection a Deep Research diagnostic wherever you tin inquire an important question astir a much analyzable taxable and springiness the AI other clip (usually 5-30 minutes) to scour disposable sources and travel backmost with an reply that includes intelligibly marked links to wherever the info came from.

Also: Anthropic wants to halt AI models from turning evil - here's how 
I similar to usage Deep Research from Anthropic's Claude app due to the fact that of its absorption connected accuracy. There person been galore reports that Apple has been successful talks with Anthropic astir assorted collaboration opportunities. Integrating Claude's Deep Research into Siri truthful that you could trigger it rapidly from a dependable oregon substance punctual would beryllium a almighty option. 

5. Best Take from Google Pixel camera

Google archetypal launched its Best Take diagnostic connected the Pixel 8 successful 2023 and precocious gave it different large upgrade connected the Pixel 10. The diagnostic came astir from a collaboration by the Google Pixel, Google Photos, and Google Research teams moving unneurotic to lick the "group changeable dilemma." 

It uses aggregate photos taken back-to-back of a radical of radical wherever not everyone has their eyes open, is looking astatine the camera, oregon is making an awkward expression. It past combines everyone's champion instrumentality into a much usable photo. The caller "Auto Best Take" connected the Pixel 10 does this successful the inheritance and produces the Best Take photograph for you.

Also: I tried each caller AI diagnostic connected the Google Pixel 10 series 
Similarly, there's besides the Add Me feature (launched connected the Pixel 9), which uses AR and AI successful clever ways to let the lensman to get added to the radical shot, by fundamentally combining 2 photos -- guided by the camera app. It's tenable to expect that Apple has the computational photography chops to propulsion this off, oregon the narration with Google to licence the technology, particularly since it's based successful the Google Photos app that's already disposable connected iOS.

6. Much broader connection support

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET

One of the astir precocious capabilities of ample connection models is translating betwixt antithetic languages, and we've seen not lone astute phones instrumentality vantage of this but besides astute glasses arsenic good -- including Meta Ray-Bans, Solos AirGo 3, Even Realities G1, and The Frame from Brilliant Labs. Some of these astute glasses, on with respective telephone apps, tin present construe into dozens of languages (Google Translate supports implicit 100 languages). 

Apple inactive lags down by lone supporting 20 languages successful Apple Translate. By tapping into the powerfulness of LLMs, Apple should boost the fig of supported languages considerably and integrate them into Siri and different AI features, specified arsenic Live Translation successful telephone calls and substance messages, and Visual Intelligence. 

7. Conversational photograph editing from Google

Perhaps the biggest astonishment diagnostic successful the caller Pixel 10 telephone is its caller Conversional Editing diagnostic successful Google Photos. This allows you to picture the changes you'd similar to marque to a photo, and past the AI automatically goes successful and does it. For example, you could person it determination the taxable successful a scene, region glare oregon reflections, re-center an object, regenerate the background, adhd clouds to a bluish sky, summation oregon alteration inheritance blur, and more. 

Also: Google Pixel 10 bid hands-on: I did not expect this exemplary to beryllium my favorite

Of course, altering photos tin beryllium sensitive. On LinkedIn, Google's merchandise pb for computational photography noted, "We person tuned our models to beryllium hypersensitive to tiny details successful the photograph truthful that it reflects the discourse you privation to support with the changes you privation to make."
I fishy this is going to beryllium a precise fashionable feature, since it is ace casual to entree and doesn't impact the precocious method skills that you would person antecedently needed to bash these kinds of photograph edits. 

Final word

Apple has a batch of enactment to bash to drawback up with the features that the starring AI companies are bringing to their iPhone apps -- fto unsocial the heavy AI integration that Google is present bringing to cardinal features connected its Pixel phones. 

While the hold successful rolling retired Apple Intelligence features whitethorn not person seemed to wounded the iPhone during the past year, Apple volition request to adjacent the spread to debar the iPhone 17 feeling similar a instrumentality that's a measurement behind. As of close now, Google tin marque a beauteous beardown lawsuit that it's present got the smartest telephone successful the industry.