2023 was the year we started to see a big shift in mobile AI, with phones like the Google Pixel 8, but it looks like this is the year AI in phones will really take off. After launching the AI-packed Samsung Galaxy S24 series, we now expect Apple to embrace AI, and according to the latest leak, the company might even launch an AI App Store.
That’s according to Ben Reitzes, head of technology research at Melius Research, who claimed in an interview with CNBC (via Android Authority ) that Apple is working on an AI App Store, saying the company is “talking to Google, but they’re talking about Google being one of the many models you have access to, so this new kind of App Store can take advantage of AI.”
Reitzes followed that up by saying “in June we should start seeing them lay the groundwork for this new App Store, how it’s going to work with AI, how you can buy AI apps through the App Store.”
There’s a bit to unpack here. First off, the June announcement almost certainly means that this AI App Store will be announced at WWDC 2024, as that’s likely to be held in June and is obviously the place for a big software announcement—it’s also where we expect to hear about iOS 18, whose part could be this new App Store.
The suggestion that Apple could launch this brand new App Store just for AI apps though seems a bit odd, as it could certainly just add apps to the existing App Store, perhaps in a dedicated AI section. Indeed, we’ve already seen some AI apps, such as ChatGPT, on the existing App Store.
AI of all
The mention of Google as one of the many models you would have access to is also interesting. We recently heard that Apple was considering using Google Gemini to power some of its AI features, but this comment suggests that Apple could instead (or as well) encourage more companies to offer apps powered by their AI models on the iPhone.
But then again, we’ve already seen some AI apps on the App Store, so it’s not clear how this would be different.
In any case, Reitzes adds that while Apple’s big AI push is likely to start this year, chipsets and software may not be fully optimized for on-device AI until the iPhone 17 series in 2025, at which point Reitzes suggests we could see a lot more iPhone owners upgrade than in a normal year.