OpenAI’s latest release, ChatGPT-4o, is here, and it comes with some exciting features. Don’t be surprised if some of these features are included in Apple’s next iPhone, and we’ve assembled a wishlist that Apple should pay attention to.
Apple is reportedly in touch with several artificial intelligence companies, including Google and OpenAI, to help turbo-charge Siri and iOS 18 with new features. The latest reports suggest Apple may have decided to strike a deal with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
This is excellent news for iPhone enthusiasts, as Siri is generations behind compared to modern AI assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa. However, the introduction of ChatGPT-4o has raised expectations for personal assistants way higher than what Siri currently offers.
That said, even though Apple may collaborate with OpenAI and replace Siri with a standalone app as powerful and capable as ChatGPT-4o, it may still maintain control of the system and data access. Looking at the demos from OpenAI, we have a list of features we want to see in a new AI-powered Siri.
Personality
Voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant sound robotic. They sound as if they’re uninterested in the conversations, and it’s not very human-like. Conversely, ChatGPT-4o has a unique personality, the way it interacts with the user is deeply impressive, quipping jokes, sometimes at your own expense.
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman tweeted “Her” during the demo, suggesting that the assistant could end up filling the sci-fi fantasy of the 2013 Spike Jonze classic of the same name. This new multimodal voice assistant sounded natural, had an engaging tone, and had no issues in back-and-forth communication.
While it may have been a highly controlled demo, we’d love to have emotive Siri, who gives verbal cues, shares laughter, and can evoke enthusiasm, joy, and sarcasm.
After all, who would not want a digital assistant living in their phone to be more human-like rather than the robotic reality we’re currently stuck with?
Live translation
Your smartphone is one of the most essential travel gadgets, and when abroad, you may often need help translating stuff you see or hear. While Google Translate and Google Lens are undeniably useful, it can take a while for it to output anything usable. But ChatGPT-4o is capable of offering real-time translation. It can “hear” and “speak” to help people communicate easily.
Realtime translation with GPT-4o pic.twitter.com/J1BsrxwYdE
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 13, 2024
From what we’ve seen, ChatGPT-4o offered instant responses and could translate communication back and forth without needing a prompt every time. This makes a conversation feel natural even though both parties are unfamiliar with the language.
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Apple’s SoC for phones and larger devices can handle on-device AI tasks and should be able to handle resource-intensive tasks like real-time language translation. This would make life way easier for frequent travelers and should be a must-have feature for any smartphone boasting AI features.
Accessibility features
We want Siri to have more vision-based features. The ability to “see” things and describe them accurately to help people with disabilities or perform day-to-day tasks could help Siri become a “real” assistant.
We’ve seen smart glasses capable of performing similar tasks, and modern AI gadgets like Humane AI Pin or Rabbit R1 could assist people with disabilities. However, if your iPhone can help you when needed, you might not need to invest in another device.
Continuity of conversation
Sometimes, while using Siri, you might have to cut your conversations short to come back later. But, it can be a bit of a headache. It currently needs you to restart the conversation from scratch. This needs to go, as it doesn’t feel natural and personal.
Siri should have records of conversations and be able to refer them when required. This will let you continue the chat where you previously left off. This will be extremely helpful in scenarios like doing homework or taking notes.
Advice when you need it
A GPT-4o powered Siri could even give you tips when you need it for things like job interviews or when choosing what outfit to pick on any given day. This kind of interaction is currently unheard of with many smart assistants, as it requires them to be dynamic, conversational, and helpful. While you don’t want to ask it questions on how to propose to your partner, it could offer genuinely useful help when you might be in a bind.
Interview prep with GPT-4o pic.twitter.com/st3LjUmywa
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 13, 2024
The demo above is impressive, and the possibilities for how GPT-4o could help you are almost endless, so we hope that Apple at least takes a few notes when revamping its AI-powered assistant with some new tricks.
If you’re a tech fan and want to know more about smartphones, check out our list of best Android smartphones or read our guide to all the upcoming smartphones, including the iPhone 16 series, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Last but not least, we’ve compiled an extensive list of expected features in iOS 18 and have a detailed explainer on the Apple M4 chipset to highlight the capabilities of this immensely powerful chipset.
