In the AI arms race that was started by OpenAI, Apple was sluggish.
Some said that the Cupertino-based company didn't expect ChatGPT to be so phenomenal, or whether the AI tool is not really align to its ecosystem. Regardless, Apple has entered the bandwidth, but again, it doesn't really like to follow what others have done.
Instead of equipping Large Language Models throughout its apps and make everything conversational, Apple's advance in this AI war is subtle.
But that is for a reason: its ecosystem.
Apple only wants its Apple Intelligence to be part of its core, not a complementary that serves as a gimmick.
And 'Apple Invites' is a good example of this.
According to Apple in a newsroom post, Apple Invites is "a new app that brings people together for life’s special moments."
The idea is to help users "create custom invitations to gather friends and family for any occasion."
Apple’s new Invites app is a showcase for iPhone ecosystem strengths.
Apple Invites features six integrations with existing Apple apps, like Photos, for shared event albums; Music, for collaborative playlists; Image Playground, which lets users create custom invite images; Maps, for showing an event’s location; Weather, to offer projected forecasts; and Calendar, which users can add an event to with a tap.
With this growing app portfolio, Apple is giving itself a chance to leverage the strengths of its ecosystem.
But this also means that the app is exclusive.
Apple Invites, which allows users to create events, such as birthdays, graduations and housewarming parties, and manage RSVPs and guest lists through the app, require a paid iCloud+ subscription to send invites.
However, users don't need to own an iPhone to RSVP to events.
While the idea is to utilize Apple's own ecosystem, Apple isn't forgetting the hype it has gotten itself into.
According to Apple, the app uses Apple Intelligence so users can use the built-in Image Playground experience to produce original images using concepts, descriptions, and people from their photo library. And when composing invitations, users can use Writing Tools to help find just the right turn of phrase to meet the moment.
It's all about making invites "more fun."
Through ecosystem first approach, Apple is positioning itself as a rival in the LLM competition, but through a different strategy, which focuses on delivering efficient, privacy-centric AI solutions across its devices and services.
