Apple Intelligence Gets Delayed 🫠!

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Another day, another 💸; another week, another lineup of AI news that’ll make you 😲! 

Kicking us off with not-so-great news, a report recently revealed that Apple’s AI suite, dubbed Apple Intelligence, would be getting delayed. 

On the flip side, hardware to be precise, there’s a new AI companion on the block (spoiler alert: it’s Friend 😉). 

What’s more, Google jumps on the “lightweight and efficient” AI-train with the rollout of Gemini 1.5 Flash, alongside other updates ⚡. 

But what exactly makes this model stand out? Let’s find out 💡🏃! 

In a rush? Here's your quick byte:

🤖 Apple Intelligence gets delayed! 

🧑‍🤝‍🧑  Friend unveils the latest AI-powered companion. 

⚡ Google rolls out Gemini updates! 

🎭 AI Reimagines: Pixar versions of almost-famous historical figures! 

⚡ The Neural Frontier’s weekly spotlight: 3 AI tools making a splash this week.

🤖 Apple Intelligence gets delayed!

Apple’s highly anticipated AI features, part of its “Apple Intelligence” suite, will be arriving later than expected. 

Here’s what you need to know about this update:

🚀 Delayed Rollout: Apple Intelligence, the company’s new AI feature set, will miss the initial launch of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, set for September. Instead, these features will begin rolling out with software updates by October.

🔧 Developer Testing: Developers will get early access to test Apple Intelligence as soon as this week via the iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 betas. This early testing phase aims to iron out issues and ensure a smooth consumer release.

🌐 AI Capabilities: Apple Intelligence includes key features such as prioritization of notifications, web page, and voice note summaries, writing improvement tools, Siri enhancements, and integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

📱 Impact on iPhone 16: The first iPhone 16 models shipped may lack the new AI features, requiring a software update weeks later. Apple is betting on these AI enhancements, alongside a new camera control button and faster chip, to drive sales for the iPhone 16 line.

🔍 Extended Rollout: The full suite of Apple Intelligence features will be introduced through multiple updates across the end of 2024 and into 2025. Beyond iPhones and iPads, these features will also come to Mac computers and are in development for the Vision Pro.

Apple’s AI feature rollout may be delayed, but it promises significant enhancements that could change the way we interact with our devices. As Apple continues to refine and expand these features, the upcoming updates are set to make the iPhone experience smarter and more efficient. 

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Friend unveils the latest AI-powered companion.

Avi Schiffmann is about to introduce "Friend," a unique AI companion designed to offer constant support and companionship. 

Here’s why it’s set to change the way we interact with AI:

🚀 Introducing Friend: Initially named Tab, this AI companion has evolved into "Friend." Unlike other AI tools focused on productivity, Friend is meant to be a supportive presence, offering encouragement, brainstorming help, and companionship. 

🌐 Always With You: The Friend device is a round, glowing orb that you can wear around your neck or clip onto your clothes. It records conversations through a built-in microphone and communicates via text on your phone’s Friend app. 

🧠 Supportive Companion: Friend isn’t designed to manage tasks or enhance productivity. Instead, it focuses on being a constant companion, providing emotional support, validating ideas, and being there whenever you need to talk.

📱 Features and Availability: Friend will start shipping 30,000 devices in January at $99 each, with no subscription fees. Schiffmann is discussing the project now to build credibility and secure manufacturing partnerships.

As it prepares for its official launch, Friend could soon become a valuable addition to many people’s lives—offering support, conversation, and a sense of connection.

⚡Google rolls out Gemini updates! 

 Google is rolling out significant updates to Gemini, its AI-powered chatbot, to enhance performance and expand accessibility. 

Here’s what you need to know:

🚀 Gemini 1.5 Flash: Google’s lightweight multimodal model, Gemini 1.5 Flash, is now available on web and mobile in 40 languages across 230 countries. This version delivers better quality and speed, especially in reasoning and image understanding. It’s also more cost-efficient to run. 

🔧 Expanded Context Window: The context window for Gemini has been expanded to 32,000 tokens, allowing the model to handle longer text snippets and maintain conversation context more effectively. This means Gemini can now summarize and analyze longer documents and conversations. 

📁 File Uploads for All: Previously a feature for premium users, file uploads from Google Drive and local devices will soon be available to all Gemini users. This allows users to analyze data files, uncover insights, and visualize them through charts and graphics.

🔍 Combating Hallucinations: To address AI-generated inaccuracies, Google is introducing a feature that displays links to related web content beneath certain Gemini answers. This helps users verify information and explore related topics further. 

👩‍🎓 Teen Accessibility: Google is making Gemini available to teenagers globally, including a new teen-tailored onboarding process and an AI literacy guide to promote responsible AI use. Additional policies and safeguards are being implemented to protect young users.

Google’s updates to Gemini make it faster, smarter, and more widely accessible. With enhanced features and broader availability, Gemini aims to provide a more effective and reliable AI companion for users worldwide. 

🎭 AI Reimagines: Pixar versions of almost-famous historical figures! 

Yep, that’s Nefertiti. A Pixar-inspired version of her, to be precise 💡. 

Step into our showcase this week, and explore some of the lesser-known historical figures, Pixar style! 

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⚡ The Neural Frontier’s weekly spotlight: 3 AI tools making a splash this week.

Step into our curated list of the movers and shakers in the AI tool space this week: 

1. ✍️ Hemingway Editor Plus: Hemingway Editor Plus simplifies and clarifies your writing in seconds, providing instant suggestions to rewrite wordy sentences, fix grammar issues, and more. 

2. 🎨 Simply Draw: Simply Draw is designed to help you learn and practice drawing beautiful pencil sketches. With step-by-step instructions and personalized courses, you’ll quickly see improvement in your drawing skills.

3. 📚 QuizRise: QuizRise is an AI-powered assistant designed for educators and learners to create online quizzes, tests, and exams quickly and efficiently. 

And there you have it! 

Yeah, Apple’s news was a bit of a bummer, but that new AI companion from Friend? Pretty intriguing if you ask us (yes, we’ll assume you asked)! 

Then those Gemini updates? Pretty impressive, to say the least. 

You already know how it goes: stay curious, hit that Subscribe button, and we’ll catch you next week 😉!