Report: Apple's LLM Runs Entirely "On Device," Bypassing the Cloud

Apple appears to have opted for a local large language model (LLM) for its AI initiative as part of iOS 18. This was reported by the financial news agency Bloomberg over the weekend. According to the report, "all signs" point to this being "on-device AI". Apple would be attempting to run as many generative AI applications as possible directly on the iPhone, which is set to receive even more powerful AI hardware capabilities in Generation 16, which is expected in September.

Apple is doing it differently – presumably

The major AI providers such as OpenAI (ChatGPT), Microsoft (Bing Chat / Copilot), Google (Gemini) and Anthropic (Claude) are currently relying primarily on the cloud. The user enters their prompts and the server infrastructure reports back the result, be it a text, a graphic or (soon) a video. When it comes to AI, Apple has always been strongly committed to processing on the device itself for data protection reasons. The company wants to collect as little user information as possible. However, the question is whether this leads to poorer output.

Apple recently published various research papers that point to local LLMs. These included a particularly small but powerful language model, more context functions for the voice assistant Siri, which is increasingly becoming a joke, and an AI system that could automate iPhone operation. However, there is also serious speculation that Apple is hiring an AI service provider, with talks said to have taken place with Google, OpenAI, Baidu and Anthropic.

AI should make life easier

Cloudless generative AI has long been attributed to Apple – including by Bloomberg. The latest report now states that Apple's AI may be less powerful and smart, but the approach will significantly reduce reaction times. "And it will be easier for Apple to maintain privacy." The marketing message should also be slightly different. Instead of touting the services of a possible upcoming chatbot or other generative AI tools, Apple will show "how the technology can help people in their daily lives".

However, this is reminiscent of the introduction of Siri in 2011, when the voice assistant only developed slowly in the years that followed, with some users even claiming that the system was worse with iOS 17 than before. There are increasing calls for Apple to bury the brand, as it simply does not have a good reputation compared to current AI systems.

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