Apple Stock News: Apple Continuing Work on Folding iPhones
Apple Stock News: Apple is actively prototyping two foldable iPhones after years of research. The prototypes fold widthwise and are still in early development, not slated for mass production until at least 2026. Apple has engaged with suppliers in Asia for components, but the project could be canceled if it doesn’t meet standards.
CEO Tim Cook showed interest in a foldable iPhone as early as 2018. Technical challenges and justifying its high price point have been concerns. Initially, Apple aimed for the display to be outside when closed, but durability issues arose. They shifted focus to an inward folding iPad, aiming for an 8-inch display.
Editing Images According to Natural Language Commands
Apple researchers have unveiled MGIE, an open-source AI model for image editing guided by natural language input. MGIE, using multimodal large language models (MLLMs), can enhance global aspects like brightness and apply local edits such as shape modifications or Photoshop-style adjustments like cropping and adding filters. Collaborating with the University of California, Apple presented MGIE at ICLR 2024 and made it available on GitHub. This follows Apple’s recent advancements in deploying large language models on memory-limited devices. Reports suggest Apple’s ongoing efforts to integrate generative AI features like ChatGPT into iOS 18, potentially making it a significant update in iPhone history.
AI Safety Institute Consortium
Apple and major tech firms have united in a U.S. consortium to promote safe and responsible development of generative AI, announced by the Commerce Department. This initiative, involving over 200 members including OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon, aims to set standards outlined in President Biden’s AI executive order. The focus is on developing guidelines for various AI aspects, including red-teaming, risk management, and synthetic content watermarking. The collaboration also includes civil society groups, academics, and government officials to establish AI safety standards. Generative AI offers vast potential in creativity and efficiency but raises concerns like deepfakes and job displacement. Apple’s substantial investment in AI research includes the development of its generative AI model, “Ajax,” expected to integrate advanced language understanding into iOS 18.
Antitrust Lawsuit Over Apple Watch
The antitrust lawsuit filed by AliveCor against Apple in 2021 has been dismissed following a summary judgment in Apple’s favor by the overseeing judge. AliveCor accused Apple of targeting its “SmartRhythm” app and rendering it non-functional with changes to the Apple Watch heart rhythm algorithm in watchOS 5. However, the court ruled in favor of Apple, stating that AliveCor did not have the right to dictate Apple’s design decisions. Apple welcomed the decision, emphasizing its commitment to innovation in health-related features on the Apple Watch. AliveCor expressed disappointment and plans to appeal the decision, while also pursuing separate patent infringement lawsuits against Apple.
