Apple has unveiled the latest innovation to Apple Pay by introducing Tap to Cash as part of the upcoming iOS 18 update, as well as integrating ChatGPT.
Announced during the WorldWide Developers Conference (WWCD) keynote, Tap to Cash enables Apple mobile users to make person-to-person payments by tapping each phone together.
This move signals an evolution of Apple’s pre-existing Tap to Pay feature by expanding on its NFC payment capabilities to allow for a more seamless and efficient transaction process.
Apple shared that Tap to Cash will also include a layer of security and privacy as users will not be required to share personal information before tapping each phone for payment.
However, what was arguably the most noteworthy release during the WWCD keynote was that Apple is partnering with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT to Siri as part of the iOS 18 update.
This move serves as a major leap forward for Apple’s exploration into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) by partnering with the fastest-growing technological app in ChatGPT.
The gen AI model will be integrated into Siri and provide Apple users with a plethora of additional benefits, such as text suggestions which will complement Apple’s latest Writing Tools feature which can rewrite existing text, change tone of language and make smart replies.
The Big Tech firm revealed that ChatGPT with Apple will be free to use and does not require the user to create an account. Apple also stated that requested information with ChatGPT will not be logged.
But, Apple’s AI push does not stop there as the company announced the long-awaited launch of Apple Intelligence.
With ChatGPT seemingly handling requests via Siri, Apple Intelligence will handle a multitude of user requests.
The new AI feature will be able to tailor which notifications are most important to the user, as well as building upon autocorrect with enhanced proofreading capabilities and style improvements.
Image improvements are also a part of the introduction of the AI system, being able to create generative photos similar to those within the user’s photo library.
Apple Intelligence capabilities include cross-application tasks, an increased focus on curating personal content and private cloud computing.
Another new feature Apple unveiled was a new password app for all its products that enable users to store all their passwords in a singular place, much like how Keychain performs.
The app comes with additional benefits such as storing verification codes, passwords for apps, wifi and more.
Amongst the aforementioned updates as part of iOS 18, the company outlined more new features in a release on its website.
iOS 18 is expected to be available to download in the fall of this year.