Apple’s new AI chip development hints at on-server AI features: report

Apple is reportedly working on developing its own artificial intelligence (AI) chipset to run software in data centers. If this is true, it would mean a major change in plans for the Cupertino-based tech giant, as previous reports had revealed that the company was only focusing on on-device AI features for its devices. However, the development of AI chips hints that Apple is also considering server-based AI features. Some of these features may be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, which is scheduled to be held on June 10.

according to a report According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has been working on its server project, known internally as Project ACDC, for several years. Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the report notes that the tech giant is now planning to introduce specific chipsets for these data centers to enable them to run AI computing.

The tech giant is reportedly working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to design and produce these AI chips, however, it is unclear whether the manufactured processors have shown a definitive result. These chips are said to be used only for inference purposes (running AI models) and not for training large language models (LLMs). Notably, TSMC is a major chip-manufacturing partner for Apple and produces most of the silicon used in the company’s devices.

If the claims are true, it could point to a major change in Apple’s AI strategy. Several reports earlier claimed that the company was only interested in bringing on-device AI features that could be completely processed locally. Proof of this plan was seen when it unveiled the new iPad Pro 2024 with the M4 chip, which comes with a new Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to run AI tasks.

However, so far no smartphone manufacturer has been able to offer a suite of AI features that function completely locally due to the high hardware requirement and instead split the processes between the server and the device. Notable examples are Samsung’s Galaxy AI and Oppo’s AI features. Apple also appears to have realized this problem and is now planning to combine on-device and server-based AI features for its ecosystem.

This potentially means that features that are non-privacy intrusive can be run from the server, while features that access user data can still be processed locally. This combination could also allow Apple to expand these features to its older devices that don’t have the hardware to support on-device AI features. Although these are just speculations, we will know for sure if Apple unveils its AI features at WWDC 2024.