That is, on Monday, June 10, at 1 p.m. EST, Apple will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, Calif.
This is a timeless tradition for the tech titan. Apple has hosted an annual WWDC since 1983. And during these events, it usually updates Apple customers on its latest software developments, even announcing new products and services.
For example, at its 2006 conference, Apple debuted the Mac pro for the very first time. Two years later, at the 2008 WWDC, the company announced the App Store for the iPhone. And most recently, Apple unveiled its Vision Pro headset at 2023’s WWDC.
For decades now, Apple has used these annual events to make some major announcements – and launch some major new products and services.
And this time around, when Tim Cook takes the stage, he could make his company’s biggest announcement since Steve Jobs revealed the iPhone.
Apple: MIA in the AI €˜Arms’ Race
You may have some idea of what the Apple CEO’s announcement could be. After all, only one megatrend in the world right now is capable of supercharging this behemoth €” artificial intelligence (AI).
Ever since ChatGPT’s debut, generative AI models have surged in popularity. And that’s led to a war among Big Tech companies to use AI to make their products faster, more efficient, and more cutting edge.
Indeed, over the past few months, virtually every other Big Tech firm has made huge investments and/or launched splashy new AI products and services. They’ve gone all-in on the AI Race.
Just look at Microsoft (MSFT), which has poured $10 billion into OpenAI and its ChatGPT product.
Alphabet (GOOGL) has countered those developments by launching its own AI chatbot, Gemini, to defend its turf in search.
And Amazon (AMZN) has poured $4 billion into AI startup Anthropic.
But it’s missing a major player: Apple.
After all, Apple is the world’s largest and most established technology company. Yet, so far, it’s missing from the biggest tech race of our generation.
Why?
Well, we believe it’s because it’s waiting – for WWDC 2024.
Holding Its Cards Close to Its Chest
On an earnings call back in February, in response to a question about general AI, Tim Cook said, “We’ve got some things that we are incredibly excited about that we’ll be talking about later this year.”
Intriguing…
And while not much is publicly known about Apple’s AI innovations or plans, most insiders expect Apple to announce overhauls to its software ecosystem, particularly through AI enhancements. That means iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and all other Apple operating systems will be getting native AI integration.
Imagine your iPhone helping you edit photos, craft messages, and even jazz up your emojis using artificial intelligence.
Not to mention, last month, Apple rolled out new versions of its iPad Air and Pro. The newest iPad Pro is its slimmest device yet, sporting the new Apple M4 chip to power its AI capabilities. This chip isn’t just about speed; it’s designed to handle AI tasks more efficiently. And the redesigned iPad Air comes with Apple’s M2 chip – not as advanced as the M4 but powerful nonetheless.
Peeking Behind the Apple AI Curtain
But in fact, this AI breadcrumb trail extends even further.
Back in December 2023, Apple published two significant research papers on artificial intelligence, which included techniques for 3D avatars and more efficient large-language models (LLMs) for mobile devices.
Such advancements could put Apple in first place almost overnight as its products become supercharged with capable, immersive visual experiences and complex LLMs running locally on an iPad or iPhone.
In a nutshell, Apple scientists have introduced HUGS (Human Gaussian Splats), a method to generate animated 3D avatars from short videos taken with a single camera. This innovation promises to create lifelike avatars in just 30 minutes, using only 50 to 100 frames of video.
This technology is not only faster €” up to 100 times quicker in training and rendering compared to existing methods €” but also delivers photorealistic results. Imagine the potential for creating hyper-realistic avatars for virtual reality, gaming, or even remote work environments.
Furthermore, Apple researchers addressed another significant challenge: deploying LLMs on devices with limited memory.
Modern natural language models, such as GPT-4, have hundreds of billions of parameters. This makes inference costly on consumer hardware.
To solve this, the team developed a system that minimizes the amount of data transferred from flash storage to the device’s memory during use. And the results are impressive.
On an Apple M1 Max CPU, these methods improve the speed of AI tasks by four to five times compared to traditional methods. On a GPU, the improvement is even more dramatic, with speeds increasing by 20 to 25 times.
This breakthrough means that soon, your mobile devices could handle complex AI tasks with ease, making advanced AI tools more accessible than ever.
It’s a game-changer for how we interact with technology, bringing powerful AI capabilities right to our fingertips.
And Apple could pull back the curtain on its AI developments in just a few short days.
The Final Word on an Apple AI Breakthrough
Apple will likely play its first card on June 10. And judging by its history, I think it’ll be an announcement for the ages.
What exactly will it be?
No one knows for sure. But I believe it will hinge on one critical partnership between Apple and another much smaller AI company.
This partnership could propel Apple into the AI Race – maybe even turn into the industry leader.
And through my research, I’ve identified a small-cap, patent-protected company that could soar if this partnership is confirmed at Apple’s WWDC 2024 on Monday, June 10.
That’s why, ahead of that event, I delivered my own urgent presentation detailing exactly what I expect Apple to announce, why I think it will be transformative, and how it could potentially set the stage for one tiny AI stock in particular to soar in the coming months.
Folks, Apple may be about to change the game. And this is your opportunity to potentially profit from what may go down as the biggest AI announcement yet.
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
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