WWDC 2024 will finally see Apple reveal AI-based features across seemingly all of its operating systems, with its new Chatbot-style features reported to be powered by a partnership with OpenAI.
Despite that, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is not expected to appear at the event in an official capacity.
That's as per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter, where he suggests "controversial figure" Altman could appear in the crowd, but he won't be on stage.
"All signs are pointing to Altman not appearing in the presentation. Setting aside the fact that he’s a controversial figure these days, putting Altman on stage would reinforce how far behind Apple is in generative AI — and how necessary the partnership with OpenAI is."
Apple "doesn't have groundbreaking new stuff to show"
"In other words, it wouldn’t be a good look for Apple’s own efforts, which aren’t as technologically advanced," Gurman continues.
"There’s a reason why Apple is focused on integrating AI into its current apps rather than touting whiz-bang features: It doesn’t have groundbreaking new stuff to show."
Gurman has previously advised caution against users getting too excited about what Apple has to show, with "Project Greymatter" intended to make daily tasks simpler.
This less ambitious use of AI would mean more processing can be done on-device, with heavier tasks being offloaded to the Cloud.
Thankfully, at the time of writing, we're just hours away from finding out what Apple has in store.
