10 features Apple Intelligence needs to actually compete with OpenAI and Google

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

I've tracked Apple Intelligence's evolution closely during recent months, evaluating its potential and limitations. Across various articles, I've explored the challenges Apple faces as it expands into artificial intelligence (AI), from the early efforts seen in the iPhone 16 to the long-term business potential and adoption of the Vision Pro platform.

While Apple Intelligence has laid important groundwork, many anticipated features remain incomplete or underwhelming, particularly compared to the more advanced cloud-based AI platforms from OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.

Also: Apple Intelligence arrives next month: 6 AI upgrades iPhone users can expect first

Apple's focus on on-device processing and privacy for Apple Intelligence is its greatest strength and also its biggest limitation. Despite impressive hardware advancements in the iPhone 16 and Apple Silicon's neural engine, Apple Intelligence is still in its infancy, lacking the integration, third-party support, and developer tools needed to compete with its cloud-based rivals.

This top 10 feature "wishlist" explores the next steps Apple could take to elevate its generative AI (Gen AI) platform from a promising, transitional product to a powerful, versatile AI ecosystem. I also assess each improvement's technical and strategic feasibility by drawing on recent discussions about Apple's health, finance, and media direction. 

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Whether you're a developer, tech enthusiast, or simply curious about AI's future, these recommendations aim to address the gaps Apple must fill to remain a leader in the AI race.

Productivity & Workflow Enhancements

1. Regenerative AI (RAG) APIs & AI Writing Tools

While Apple Intelligence's writing tools provide basic functionality like text rewrites and proofreading, future enhancements could leverage Regenerative AI/Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) APIs to introduce more sophisticated features. This would include real-time grammar corrections, tone adjustments, and specialized models trained on industry-specific languages, such as legal or medical terminology. 

By integrating specialized dictionaries and corporate knowledge into apps like Mail, Notes, and Pages, professionals and students could create highly accurate, context-aware content that adapts to their field of expertise. This would revolutionize workflows by enabling more advanced data sourcing, rewriting, and content generation.

Technical Viability: Requires seamless real-time data processing, specialized model integration (e.g., 1B or 2B parameter models for legal/medical fields), and local-cloud coordination to ensure smooth performance. Specialized dictionaries would need to be trained and regularly updated for contextual accuracy. Strategic Likelihood: High -- Apple's push into professional and educational markets, particularly in legal and medical sectors, makes this a valuable and strategic extension of existing AI tools. RAG could further solidify Apple's foothold in these key industries. Priority: High -- This enhancement is crucial for professional sectors where precise terminology and real-time data incorporation are essential, especially in legal, healthcare, and business applications.

Use Case: A legal professional drafting a contract could use AI to generate text based on legal standards and pull relevant case law or references from secure corporate databases. Similarly, a medical researcher could enhance their papers with precise terminology and industry knowledge, all sourced and verified by a specialized AI model.

2. Voice-based AI Workflow Automation & Proactive Notifications

Siri could handle complex multi-step workflows through simple voice commands. For example, users could ask Siri to "prepare my day", which would schedule meetings, prioritize emails, set reminders, and suggest routes based on traffic. Proactive notifications would intelligently filter and surface the most relevant alerts based on real-time user activity, minimizing unnecessary distractions.

Technical Viability: Requires significant improvements in Siri's natural language processing and task management algorithms.

Strategic Likelihood: High - As competitors like Google Assistant evolve, Siri needs to enhance automation and productivity to stay competitive.

Priority: High - This would transform Siri from a basic assistant to an essential tool for daily productivity.

Use Case: Imagine telling Siri to "schedule my meetings". It will automatically handle all your emails, send invites, and reschedule conflicting events based on priority -- all via a simple voice command.

Also: The iPhone 16 is undeniably great hardware - but you should still probably skip it

Security & Privacy Enhancements

3. Enhanced AI Privacy and Security Controls

As AI becomes more integrated into daily use, Apple can enhance its privacy and security controls, allowing users to customize how AI interacts with personal data. Users could have granular control over what information third-party apps can access and how this data is used, ensuring all AI interactions comply with privacy expectations.

Technical Viability: Requires the expansion of Apple's already robust cryptographic protocols and the development of more customizable user consent frameworks.

Strategic Likelihood: Very high - Privacy is central to Apple's branding, and adding more robust AI controls will be essential as AI usage increases.

Priority: High - Global regulations and consumer expectations around data privacy make this a critical development area.

Use Case: A user can adjust permissions so that Siri only accesses their calendar data for scheduling tasks but does not access messages or locations, ensuring maximum privacy control without compromising functionality.

Also: The 7 best iOS 18 features that will make updating your iPhone worthwhile

4. Financial Management and Security

AI could combine financial management tools with real-time fraud detection. AI would help users track spending, provide budgeting advice, and send predictive financial alerts while monitoring transactions for unusual or fraudulent activity. This would bring AI to Apple Wallet and Pay, making these tools more secure and user-friendly.

Technical Viability: Requires the development of robust AI algorithms to analyze financial data in real-time and detect suspicious activities.

Strategic Likelihood: High - Apple's increasing involvement in financial services (Apple Pay, Apple Card) makes this an obvious next step.

Priority: High - Fraud detection and personalized financial management are increasingly important as Apple expands its financial services ecosystem.

Use Case: Apple Wallet could automatically alert users to suspicious activity in their accounts and AI could provide personalized budgeting advice based on spending patterns, helping users achieve their financial goals. 

Also: Every iPhone model that will be updated to Apple's iOS 18 (and which ones won't)

Health & Wellness Innovations

5. Advanced Health and Fitness

AI could provide real-time diagnostics and predictive health insights by leveraging the rich sensor data from the Apple Watch. AI would analyze sleep patterns, heart rate, and activity levels, alerting users to health issues like irregular heartbeats or recommending optimal workouts based on past performance and current fitness levels.

Technical Viability: Requires integrating complex health data into AI models capable of providing real-time diagnostics and personalized health insights.

Strategic Likelihood: High - Apple's ongoing investment in health and fitness aligns well with this enhancement, as the demand for health tech continues to grow.

Priority: High - Health and fitness features are key drivers for Apple Watch adoption, making this a high-priority feature for Apple's wellness ecosystem.

Use Case: AI could alert users if their heart rate is irregular during a workout and suggest modifying their routine. It could also offer personalized workout plans based on their health data to help them reach their fitness goals.

Also: The 4 biggest new health features Apple just announced

Creative & Media Tools

6. AI-Enhanced Media Production Tools

For creative professionals, AI could streamline tasks in Apple's creativity tools, such as Final Cut Pro and GarageBand. AI could automate video editing, sound mixing, and effects generation, suggesting edits based on user preferences and creative style. This approach would allow users to focus on the creative aspects of their work, leaving repetitive tasks to the AI.

Technical Viability: Requires building AI models that understand user preferences and creative workflows in real time.

Strategic Likelihood: High - Apple's established presence in creative markets makes this a natural evolution for its professional software suite.

Priority: Moderate - While essential for creative professionals, this feature serves a niche market compared to more widely used tools, such as productivity or financial management.

Use Case: A filmmaker using Final Cut Pro could have AI automatically cut clips, color correct scenes, and apply filters based on their past projects or creative preferences, dramatically reducing editing time.

Also: Want Apple's new AI features without buying a new iPhone? Try this app

Sustainability & Accessibility

7. Sustainability and Environmental Tracking

Apple's AI could help users track and reduce their environmental impact by collecting data from HomeKit and Matter-enabled devices, EVs, and smart meters. AI could analyze energy consumption, recommend eco-friendly alternatives, and offer personalized sustainability tips based on user behavior and device usage patterns.

Technical Viability: Requires the development of algorithms that collect and analyze data from both Apple and non-Apple devices, such as EVs and smart meters.

Strategic Likelihood: Moderate - Aligns with Apple's sustainability goals but requires significant external partnerships for non-Apple data integration.

Priority: Moderate - Sustainability is an important but secondary focus compared to other AI-driven features, such as security or productivity tools.

Use Case: A user's HomeKit system could work with their EV to optimize charging during off-peak hours, and AI would provide recommendations for reducing energy consumption throughout the day.

Also: Your Apple Watch is getting an upgrade - here are the best features in WatchOS 11 

8. AI Accessibility for Education and General Use

AI could further enhance accessibility for users with disabilities by adapting device interfaces and content dynamically. Real-time captioning, gesture recognition, and adaptive learning environments could help students and users with disabilities interact with Apple devices more easily. AI could also support personalized learning, adapting content presentation based on individual needs.

Technical Viability: Builds on Apple's current accessibility tools, requiring AI enhancements for more adaptive functionality.

Strategic Likelihood: High - Accessibility is core to Apple's mission, and expanding AI here aligns with its focus on inclusivity and educational technology.

Priority: High - Accessibility and education are essential for broadening Apple's user base, making this a priority feature.

Use Case: A student with a hearing impairment could use real-time captioning during online classes or lectures, while AI adapts learning materials to suit their individual needs.

Also: Your AirPods Pro 2 can soon double as over-the-counter hearing aids. Here's how

Cross-Ecosystem & Personalization

9. Gen AI Store & Broader AI Features for IoT Devices

Apple could launch a dedicated Gen AI Store for AI-powered apps, enabling users to discover and download AI-driven applications for tasks like personal assistance, home automation, and media recommendations. This would also extend AI functionality to Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as HomePod and Apple TV, allowing AI to automate daily routines and personalize experiences across the home.

Technical Viability: Requires a scalable infrastructure for AI model distribution and integration across IoT devices.

Strategic Likelihood: Moderate to high - A dedicated store for AI apps could open new revenue streams, and expanding AI to IoT devices would make Apple's ecosystem smarter.

Priority: Moderate - This could drive significant service revenue, but device integration may take longer.

Use Case: A user could download a home automation AI from the Gen AI Store, which coordinates energy usage and home activities based on daily routines, and learning patterns to optimize efficiency.

Also: Buying an Apple Watch Series 10? Consider these 3 features before upgrading

10. AI Learning and Personalization

AI could make Apple devices more intuitive by learning from user habits and behaviors. AI would provide personalized suggestions for apps, settings, and actions, such as suggesting a playlist during a workout or optimizing settings for focus when work hours are detected.

Technical Viability: Requires sophisticated machine-learning models that learn dynamically from user behavior across all devices.

Strategic Likelihood: High - Apple's focus on personalized user experiences would align perfectly with this feature.

Priority: Moderate to high - While not as urgent as some productivity tools, improving personalization is key to deepening user engagement.

Use Case: AI could recognize when a user typically works out, automatically suggesting their preferred workout playlist and adjusting device settings like Do Not Disturb to enhance focus. Similarly, AI could learn a user's work routine and suggest apps or contacts frequently used during work hours, streamlining daily tasks.

Also: Two reasons why I'm thrilled that there's no new Apple Watch Ultra or AirPods Pro

The future 

Apple Intelligence is on the cusp of transforming how we interact with devices, but it remains a work in progress. This wishlist highlights the key areas where Apple can make meaningful strides, from enhanced developer integration to expanding AI's role in health, finance, and accessibility. 

Also: Apple delivers on hardware upgrades but punts Apple Intelligence rollout

While Apple's focus on privacy and on-device processing sets it apart, the company must embrace a broader AI strategy to meet user expectations. By addressing these gaps, Apple can solidify its leadership in AI and deliver an ecosystem that's both secure and innovative, driving the next wave of intelligent user experiences.