Apple’s VR headset could arrive at WWDC 2023 but what we need is ChatGPT Siri
Apple might be focusing on the wrong thing at WWDC 2023
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Applewill very likely, atWWDC 2023on June 5, launch its first new product category in almost a decade – a piece of VR hardware – but it may be the wrong product at the wrong time.
I, like everyone else, am beyond excited to see what could beApple’s very first mixed reality (AR/VR) headset, possibly called theReality Pro. Sure, it might cost $3,000 and be made of unobtainium (meaning no one will be able to buy one for six months or more), but for Apple to step into a new product category is major news for consumers, businesses (the core target for the headset, apparently), and competitors.
Of course, if it wasn’t Apple, people might take a more sober view of the potential announcement, and not judge it like bad poetry that you embrace because it’s from your star pupil.
Of course, if it wasn’t Apple, people might take a more sober view of the potential announcement and not judge it like bad poetry that you embrace because it’s from your star pupil.
Understand, I do not expect Apple’sxrOS-powered headset to be a bad product. It will likely look better than anything produced by Meta, HTC, and even Magic Leap. It will look, and maybe even smell, like the future. The headset will likely have a pair of high-resolutionOLEDscreens and powerful Apple silicon inside, and probably an H2 chip as well (all Apple wearables must have it, and who doesn’t love fantastic audio?). We’ll bemoan the external battery pack, but I think the performance and visuals could be stunning.
The problem is that Apple has taken so long to jump into this category that people have moved on from the initial wave of excitement over VR (just ask Meta about its flounderingMetaverse). But VR isn’t the only two-letter technology ship that might have sailed before Apple has managed to climb on board – it also risks being left behind in the great AI stampede, asMicrosoftandGooglepower ahead in that space.
AI is the word, not VR
We now have an entire populace and industry obsessed with chatbots, and not just the idea of them. We’re usingChatGPT(and its paid-for siblingChatGPT Plus),Google Bard, andBing AIevery day. And we’re not just asking them one-off questions, but having conversations. The original virtual assistants, likeAmazon Alexa, are only just stepping into long-form conversation, and most are still quite limited.
Among the stunted AI offerings isSiri,the virtual assistant that started it all. I still talk to it every day, but we do not have what I would call conversations. As I wrote back in March,Siri is of a different speciesto, say,ChatGPT. It’s built on local machine learning that taps into Apple’s powerful A16 Bionic chip’s neural network. It is not a generative AI system built on a large language model.
I also noted that Apple’s penchant for keeping AI local may be hindering its ability to radically advance Siri, and compete with the likes of Bard.
There’s been little buzz about what Apple might do with Siri, and how that could materialize atWWDC. The best clue we have isa job listing for a Visual Generative Modeling Researcher Role, and how the candidate might work on Generative AI systems. But that’s Apple in hiring mode, not implementation mode.
Is it too late for Siri?
The problem with Apple not making a generational leap with Siri at WWDC 2023 is that it probably wasn’t on Apple’s roadmap a year ago or even six months ago. There simply hasn’t been enough time to bake in a bigiOS 17Siri update, at least not in time for WWDC.
I guess Apple could quickly whip up a cool demo of what it wants to launch in September when the anticipatediPhone 15line arrives. That gives it at least three more months (the phones will probably ship end of September, or early October) of development time, and a chance to use someOpenAIplugins to add ChatGPT-4 to Siri.
We might still love it
Considering how quickly other companies have been able to add a little ChatGPT magic to their products, that seems almost possible. The only issue I have with is that the advancement won’t really be Apple’s – and Apple may not have enough trust in OpenAI’s privacy bonafides to use GPT-4 it.
Yes, we’ll probably lose our minds over the new Apple VR gear– but we may not be able to escape that nagging voice in the back of our heads that says, “This is nice but is it what we really want? Maybe we should ask ChatGPT.”
Here’show to watch Apple’s WWDC 2023 keynoteif you want to follow live to see exactly what Apple delivers.
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A 38-year industry veteran andaward-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.
Lance Ulanoffmakes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, theToday Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.
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