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Emily Forlini@PCMag Middle East ai //

Microsoft iOS 18.4 Features AI Priority Notifications - Microsoft released its iOS 18.4 update, which brings AI-driven Priority Notifications and expands Apple Intelligence to the EU, highlighting time-sensitive notifications.
Microsoft has released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, introducing AI-driven Priority Notifications. This new feature utilizes Apple Intelligence to organize the lock screen, allowing users to quickly identify and address the most urgent notifications. Priority Notifications are designed to highlight important items that demand immediate attention, streamlining the process of managing incoming alerts on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The update also brings Apple Intelligence to Vision Pro and the EU.

The iOS 18.4 update includes several other enhancements and additions. A new "Sketch" style is now available in Image Playground, offering users the ability to create detailed sketch drawings. For Vision Pro users, Apple Intelligence features are now accessible on the headset, accompanied by a new Vision Pro app for iPhone. The app facilitates the discovery of new content and spatial experiences, providing easy access to device information. Additionally, Apple News+ now features recipes from top publishers, enhancing the food section with stories, kitchen tips, and healthy eating options.

Recommended read:
References :
  • PCMag Middle East ai: iOS 18.4 Is Here With Priority Notifications, Other Small Tweaks
  • iThinkDifferent: iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 released with Priority Notifications, new emojis, Apple Intelligence updates, more
  • www.zdnet.com: What's new in iOS 18.4? AI priority notifications and 9 other big updates
@Latest from Laptop Mag //

Apple to Launch AI-Driven Personalized Health Coaching - Apple is developing a new AI-driven Health+ service for personalized health coaching, leveraging Apple devices to optimize workouts, nutrition, and overall health management.
References: Apple Must , jonnyevans , iThinkDifferent ...
Apple is preparing to launch a significant expansion into digital health with its AI-driven Health+ service. Described by insiders as a "doctor in your iPhone," this service aims to optimize workouts, nutrition, and overall health management. The development represents a considerable investment and years of anticipation in the field of AI-enhanced healthcare.

The Health+ service, reportedly called Project Mulberry, will feature an AI health coach trained on data gathered by Apple’s own physicians. Apple intends to bring in outside specialists in areas like sleep, nutrition, and mental health to create video content. The goal is to empower users to take charge of their health journey and make a fundamental difference to healthcare.

Recommended read:
References :
  • Apple Must: Apple's Health+ service will optimise workouts and nutrition and help you protect your health. Years in the making, insiders call it a doctor in your iPhone.
  • jonnyevans: Apple is about to deliver on years of speculation with a big leap into AI-driven digital health provision. Apple's Health+ service will optimise workouts and nutrition and help you protect your health. Years in the making, insiders call it a doctor in your iPhone.
  • www.laptopmag.com: Apple’s plan to use AI for personalized health coaching might change everything
  • iThinkDifferent: ithinkdiff.com - Apple’s ‘Project Mulberry’ may bring AI-powered health tracking to iOS 19 and watchOS
  • gHacks Technology News: Apple is working on an AI Doctor for iPhone's Health App
  • The Tech Portal: Apple is making a strong AI push into the healthcare industry, with… Content originally published on
  • www.zdnet.com: Apple's AI doctor will be ready to see you next spring
  • eWEEK: Will Your iPhone Offer AI-Powered Health Advice Soon? Apple’s Reportedly on the Case
  • Analytics India Magazine: Apple is Building an AI Agent-Powered Health App: Reports
  • www.zdnet.com: Oura's AI health coach is live for everyone - here's what it can do for you
  • techstrong.ai: The Apple AI Doctor Is In: Report
  • bsky.app: Would you use an AI doctor service from Apple? Next year, you might be able to. Apple is reportedly working on a major Health app revamp and an AI doctor service, planned for H1 2026. The service would be powered by a new AI agent that would replicate a real doctor, "at least to some extent."
@Latest from Laptop Mag //

Apple to Use AI for Personalized Health Coaching - Apple is developing 'Project Mulberry,' an AI-powered health app for iPhones, set to launch in H1 2026, which will offer personalized health coaching and guidance based on data monitoring and recommendations.
Apple is reportedly developing a new AI-powered health app, codenamed "Project Mulberry," aimed at revolutionizing health tracking on iPhones. Expected to launch alongside iOS 19, the app will use AI algorithms to analyze health metrics from Apple devices and third-party sources. This comprehensive approach will enable the app to provide personalized insights and actionable recommendations to improve overall wellness, potentially transforming how users manage their health.

The app's AI coach will look at data from devices such as Apple Watch and potentially AirPods, which may gain future health-tracking features like heart-rate monitoring and temperature sensing. Apple is collaborating with health experts, including doctors, nutritionists, and therapists, to train the AI agents and create educational videos for the service, which may be called "Health+". The goal is to create an AI coach that can give personalized advice on sleep, exercise, mental well-being and other health issues.

Recommended read:
References :
  • iThinkDifferent: Apple’s ‘Project Mulberry’ may bring AI-powered health tracking to iOS 19 and watchOS
  • www.laptopmag.com: Apple’s plan to use AI for personalized health coaching might change everything
  • TechCrunch: Apple is developing a new version of its Health app that includes an AI coach that can advise users on how to get healthier, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
  • Apple Must: Apple's Health+ service will optimise workouts and nutrition and help you protect your health. Years in the making, insiders call it a doctor in your iPhone.
  • jonnyevans: Apple's Health+ service will optimise workouts and nutrition and help you protect your health. Years in the making, insiders call it a doctor in your iPhone.
  • gHacks Technology News: Apple is working on an AI Doctor for iPhone's Health App
  • The Tech Portal: Apple doubles down on AI-powered healthcare, aims to roll out AI health coach, more
  • www.zdnet.com: Apple's AI doctor will be ready to see you next spring
  • eWEEK: Will Your iPhone Offer AI-Powered Health Advice Soon? Apple’s Reportedly on the Case
  • Analytics India Magazine: Apple is Building an AI Agent-Powered Health App: Reports
  • bsky.app: Would you use an AI doctor service from Apple? Next year, you might be able to. Apple is reportedly working on a major Health app revamp and an AI doctor service, planned for H1 2026.
@Simon Willison's Weblog //

Apple's AI Development: Delays and Challenges - Apple is facing delays and challenges in its AI initiatives, including postponing key features for Siri and Apple Intelligence, and facing hurdles with the development of its mmWave C1 modem, impacting Apple’s 5G independence.
Apple is facing setbacks in its AI development, leading to delays in key features for Siri and Apple Intelligence. The enhanced version of Siri, promising a more personalized AI assistant experience, won't arrive until 2026, a pushback from its originally slated release with iOS 18. These delayed features are focused on enhancing Siri's context-awareness and capabilities, including scanning emails, messages, files, and photos to perform tasks across multiple apps, and understanding on-screen actions.

Apple's plan to replace Qualcomm modems with its in-house C1 chips is also facing hurdles, postponing the release of the mmWave-compatible C1 modem until 2026, potentially impacting the iPhone 17 lineup. This delay means the iPhone 17 series will continue using Qualcomm modems, as Apple grapples with technical challenges in perfecting mmWave integration. While the first-generation C1 modem offered improved power management, it faced inadequacy in supporting mmWave 5G. This setback impacts Apple's 5G independence and delays modem upgrades for iPhone users.

Recommended read:
References :
  • Simon Willison's Weblog: Apple told John Gruber (and other Apple press) this about the new "personalized" Siri: It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.
  • THE DECODER: Apple has pushed back several key features of its Apple Intelligence initiative for Siri that were originally slated for iOS 18.
  • Shelly Palmer: I like to think, "Siri can't suck forever," but apparently Apple's AI assistant is planning to test my patience. Apple's much-anticipated Agentic Siri update, initially set to roll out alongside iOS 18.4, has hit a snag. Citing "engineering hurdles," Apple pushed the release to later this year—or perhaps even beyond, depending on who you ask. Beta testers described inconsistencies, glitches, and a general sense of "not quite ready for prime time." Translation: Siri still sucks, at least for now.
  • David Phelan: If you’ve been waiting for the new, improved Siri to arrive in the next few weeks, you need to practice patience. Apple just made a rare statement on the subject.
  • Maginative: Apple's latest iOS update will use AI to distill user reviews into quick-read summaries, potentially changing how users discover and evaluate apps.
  • bsky.app: Are you waiting for Apple to fix Siri? Keep at it. Apple confirmed that it's delaying its Apple Intelligence feature for a "more personalized Siri" and now anticipates rolling it out "in the coming year." This isn't surprising: Siri has always been a joke, and Apple Intelligence is somehow worse.
  • MacStories: Simon Willison, one of the more authoritative independent voices in the LLM space right now, published a good theory on what may have happened with Apple’s delay of Apple Intelligence’s Siri personalization features: I have a hunch that this delay might relate to security. These new Apple Intelligence features involve Siri responding to requests to […]
  • Simon Willison's Weblog: Mark Gurman reports on some leaked details from internal Apple meetings concerning the delays in shipping personalized Siri. This note in particular stood out to me: Walker said the decision to delay the features was made because of quality issues and that the company has found the technology only works properly up to two-thirds to 80% of the time. He said the group “can make more progress to get those percentages up, so that users get something they can really count on.â€� [...] But Apple wants to maintain a high bar and only deliver the features when they’re polished, he said. “These are not quite ready to go to the general public, even though our competitors might have launched them in this state or worse.â€� I imagine it's a lot harder to get reliable results out of small, local LLMs that run on an iPhone. Features that fail 1/3 to 1/5 of the time are unacceptable for a consumer product like this.
  • www.techradar.com: Apple's failure to deliver the full Apple Intelligence Siri experience has us all reevaluating the company's vaunted status.
  • iThinkDifferent: Apple admits Siri’s AI upgrade is a mess, delays features due to “uglyâ€� issues
  • www.tomsguide.com: We're still waiting for a smarter Siri in Apple Intelligence — and that's a problem. Here's a closer look at the challenges facing Apple ahead of this year's iOS 19 update.
  • Mark Gurman: BREAKING: Apple's top Siri exec called AI delays embarrassing & ugly in meeting, while saying a decision to promote features before they were ready worsened the situation. Still, he praised the team & vowed to make Siri the "world's greatest" assistant.
  • THE DECODER: This article discusses the broader challenges of scaling generative AI, focusing on Apple's Siri delays as an example. It highlights the tension between rapid deployment and maintaining quality standards across millions of devices.
  • MacSparky: Apple’s AI Woes
@appleinsider.com //

Apple Enhances iOS with AI-Powered Priority Notifications - Apple is set to integrate ‘Priority Notifications’ powered by ‘Apple Intelligence’ in the upcoming iOS 18.4 update, enhancing notification management by prioritizing important alerts.
Apple is introducing 'Priority Notifications' powered by Apple Intelligence in the iOS 18.4 update, set to enhance how users manage alerts on their iPhones. This new feature, currently available in the iOS 18.4 Beta 1, utilizes on-device Apple Intelligence to assess the significance of incoming notifications. It will elevate the most critical ones to a distinct section at the top of the Lock Screen, ensuring that essential alerts, such as urgent messages, work emails, calendar reminders, or breaking news, are immediately visible and not overlooked.

To activate the feature, users need to open the Settings app, tap on Notifications, and toggle the "Prioritize Notifications" option to 'On.' Once enabled, the iPhone will intelligently organize notifications, highlighting those deemed most important based on usage patterns and interactions, regardless of their age. This prioritization aims to minimize distractions by filtering out less critical alerts, similar to the priority mail feature in the Apple Mail app. The iOS 18.4 update is also set to introduce a dedicated "Apple Vision Pro" application.

Recommended read:
References :
  • appleinsider.com: The first developer beta of iOS 18.4 features an entirely new system application, along with significant changes to Apple Intelligence and Apple News+.
  • The Tech Portal: Apple adds Apple Intelligence powered ‘Priority Notifications’ in iOS 18.4 update
  • TechCrunch: Apple on Friday released its first developer beta for iOS 18.4, which adds a new “Priority Notificationsâ€� feature, powered by Apple Intelligence.
Tobias Mann@The Register - Software //

Apple to Auto-Enable Apple Intelligence on Devices - Apple plans to automatically enable 'Apple Intelligence' on compatible devices with the release of macOS 15.3, iOS 18.3, and iPadOS 18.3 and also faces a lawsuit over 'forever chemicals' in watch bands.
References: Techmeme , Dataconomy , Techmeme ...
Apple is set to automatically enable its 'Apple Intelligence' features on compatible devices with the rollout of macOS 15.3, iOS 18.3, and iPadOS 18.3. This default activation will integrate AI capabilities into operating systems for new and upgrading users alike. Specifically, this applies to iPhone 15 Pro and later, iPads and Macs with Apple Silicon M1 chips or later, and the newest iPad mini. Although Apple Intelligence will be turned on during the device setup process, users will have the option to manually disable the feature through settings, if they choose. This marks a significant shift, as users previously had to activate AI features manually, which was confusing for some users.

The rollout includes features like notification summaries, writing tools, Image Playground, ChatGPT-powered Siri, and Visual Intelligence, although the notification summary feature for news and entertainment apps has recently been paused due to inaccuracies. Apple has stated that summaries may contain errors and is working on improving their identification on the iPhone lock screen. In related news, Apple is also facing a lawsuit regarding the use of "forever chemicals" in some of their Apple Watch bands. The lawsuit alleges that the Sport Band, Ocean Band, and Nike Sport Band, all made with fluoroelastomer, contain harmful PFAS chemicals. These chemicals, which are resistant to breakdown, have been linked to health issues including increased cancer risk and immune system problems.

Recommended read:
References :
  • Techmeme: Apple says installing macOS Sequoia 15.3, iOS 18.3, or iPadOS 18.3 will turn on Apple Intelligence automatically on compatible devices; users can opt out later (Juli Clover/MacRumors)
  • Dataconomy: Apple Intelligence goes default: Will you keep it on?
  • TweakTown News: Apple sued over harmful 'forever chemicals' found in Apple Watch bands
  • Techmeme: Apple releases iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS 15.3, enabling Apple Intelligence by default on supported devices but disabling AI summaries for news apps (Kif Leswing/CNBC)
  • www.cnbc.com: Apple turns its AI on by default in latest software update
  • www.techmeme.com: Apple releases iOS 18.3 enabling AI by default
Jibin Joseph@PCMag Middle East ai //

Apple Halts AI News Summaries Due Inaccuracy - Apple has temporarily disabled its AI-powered notification summaries for news apps due to inaccuracies and misrepresentation of facts.
Apple has temporarily disabled its AI-powered notification summaries for news apps following numerous reports of significant inaccuracies. The feature, designed to condense news headlines, has been criticized for misrepresenting facts, generating false information, and even branding inaccurate news alerts with logos of news organizations such as the BBC. Notably, a false report surfaced stating that a suspect in the United Healthcare CEO murder case had taken his own life, which was not true. Apple has acknowledged these issues and is working on improvements, including a warning message stating that summaries may contain errors and italicizing the AI-generated text to differentiate it from genuine news.

The company has temporarily disabled the AI summarization for all news and entertainment apps and is planning to reintroduce the feature in a future software update after the underlying issues are resolved. While the AI summaries will remain available for other types of apps, users will now see a warning in settings regarding the accuracy limitations, alongside the option to manage notification summaries directly from the lock screen. The suspension follows complaints from several media outlets and a call from the National Union of Journalists to halt the service to protect the integrity of online journalism.

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