Sources: Apple and OpenAI are preparing a major announcement of their partnership at WWDC; the new AirTag with a better chip is scheduled to arrive by mid-2025
Apple was caught flat-footed in the generative AI race, and the company will need to change its strategy if it wants to catch up.
BloombergMark Gurman
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported WWDC partnership would extend Apple’s effort to recover from being caught behind the generative-AI wave, after it made generative AI a priority across its software products. It also follows Apple’s acquisition of DarwinAI, whose work focused on smaller, faster AI systems.
The pairing matters because it combines OpenAI’s model capability with Apple’s device and software reach; subsequent coverage described Apple’s plan to make AI features an opt-in service. The separately scheduled AirTag refresh signals that Apple’s hardware roadmap continues alongside the AI push.
First-order effects
Apple and OpenAI would be positioned to present an AI partnership at WWDC, giving Apple a near-term route to add generative-AI capability rather than relying solely on internally developed models.
A new AirTag with an improved chip is reportedly on the roadmap for mid-2025, setting up a hardware refresh for Apple’s item-tracking product.
Second-order effects
An OpenAI integration would raise the competitive bar for AI features in mobile operating systems and put more pressure on rivals to match both model quality and distribution.
Making the features opt-in would make user adoption a key test: Apple gains a way to limit default exposure while OpenAI gains a potential distribution channel among users who choose to participate.
Third-order effects
The arrangement points to a durable split in AI markets: platform owners may control the user relationship and product integration while partnering for frontier-model capabilities.
If such partnerships become standard, differentiation will shift toward how tightly AI is embedded in operating systems, device capabilities, and privacy or consent choices—not just who trains the underlying model.
The trend: Consumer-platform companies are using external model partnerships to accelerate AI rollout while retaining control of device integration and user distribution.
@emollick @harrymccracken It was a question of priorities and Apple looking for the next cash cow. That's why billions were spent on Cars to take on Tesla (after all cars are just computers with wheels and Apple knows how to sell wheels) and face computers to show “innovation”. U…
@rjonesy Why though Everyone's been putting AI into everything and none of it's been useful Apple is the only company rn that actually has useful AI features in production The fact that nobody realizes it is the point I'd rather it be 3 small useful things than 20 useless ones
Lowest risk deal: Apple builds its own ChatGPT app into iOS, using a few private APIs and some pre-built Shortcuts to add oomph. Most interesting: OpenAI runs locally on Apple Silicon, in Apple Datacenters.
WTF Apple better have MUCH more AI for iOS 18 than this. The morale (and stock) would plummet. Concerned. ["... That includes services like auto-summarizing notifications from your iPhone, giving a quick synopsis of news articles and transcribing voice memos, as well as improv…
It is weird that Apple didn't develop an LLM given their talent pool (or capture one of the big independent AI labs). One of the clearest use cases for LLMs is as an actual working voice assistant. That was obvious for 18 months. I am surprised that they don't have the models. [i…
I thought that Apple was behind on GenAI, but not as far as Mark's analysis suggests. Apple has rarely been first with anything, and focuses on making its experiences easier and better, which has brought it success. Like Google, Apple just can't be too late. Its likely vulnera…
Also: The misguided attempt to differentiate the iPad from the Mac; get ready for a new AirTag; and Apple banks on Asia to make the Vision Pro a success. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Also: The misguided attempt to differentiate the iPad from the Mac; get ready for a new AirTag; and Apple banks on Asia to make the Vision Pro a success. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Power On: Inside Apple's generative AI plan, partnership with OpenAI and how it'll need to evolve to pass its biggest challenge in the Cook era. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Apple is teaming up with OpenAI to add the startup's technology to iOS 18, and the companies are preparing a major announcement of their partnership at WWDC