Apple Plans On-Device AI Data Analysis To Boost Privacy, Catch Up In AI Race

Apple Inc AAPL plans to start analyzing data on customers’ devices to boost its artificial intelligence platform to safeguard user information while remaining a relevant AI player.

The iPhone company typically trains AI models leveraging synthetic data.

The new approach will address that problem while ensuring user data is not exploited to train AI models.

Also Read: Apple Tops Global Smartphone Sales With 19% Share, Boosted By iPhone 16e, Emerging Market Growth

Large language models power the features in Apple Intelligence, which the company released in 2024. In addition to using synthetic data, Apple has trained its models with information it licensed from third parties, Bloomberg reports.

However, Apple’s AI products lagged behind rivals, spurring a recent management overhaul for the Siri voice assistant.

The company plans to launch the new system in an upcoming beta version of iOS, iPadOS 18.5, and macOS 15.5.

The iPhone maker also said it brings privacy-centric ways to improve the models that power other Apple Intelligence features.

Already, the company has relied on differential privacy technology to improve its Genmoji feature, which lets users create custom emojis.

Apple stock lost 17% in value year-to-date.

In March, Apple transferred responsibility over Siri from executive John Giannandrea and handed the voice assistant group to Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell and software chief Craig Federighi. The company plans to announce Apple Intelligence upgrades in June and features for Siri in 2026.

For context on AI safety, Microsoft Corp‘s LinkedIn Premium users accused it of sharing private data for AI model training without their consent.

AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic have also been accused of disregarding web scraping regulations. Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, was revealed to be sharing user posts with xAI’s Grok for training purposes.

In February, Meta Platforms Inc META cited the possibility of discontinuing the development of specific AI systems that could trigger cybersecurity, chemical, and biological attacks.

Billionaire Ray Dalio cautioned in a recent podcast interview that the development of AI could risk totalitarian social control or even anarchy in the coming years.

Now, let’s look at some expert opinions on Apple and its offerings.

Jefferies analyst Edison Lee slashed his iPhone and AI forecasts through 2031 as tariffs, weak demand, and AI hurdles weigh on Apple’s outlook.

BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan noted a strong iPhone upgrade cycle ahead, driven by AI features and internal silicon boosting Apple’s margins.

Price Action: AAPL stock is up 0.3% at $203.25 at last check Tuesday.

Read Next:

• Western Digital Stock Is Attractive, Backed By Cheap Valuation And AI Surge: Analyst

Photo: Shutterstock