“Before we get to our platforms, let's talk about Apple TV+,” said CEO Tim Cook (pictured). While a crowd gathered to watch the presentation live, segments featuring Cook and several dozen other Apple employees and executives were pre-recorded at the company's campus in Cupertino, CA. Cook could be seen standing on the solar panels on the roof of the headquarters.
As a slate of upcoming films and series played, Cook noted, “We're about to launch our most exciting lineup yet, with amazing new Originals launching every week.”
Clips from new seasons of series such as Severance, Pachinko, Slow Horses and Silo appeared alongside clips for new series Presumed Innocent and Dark Matter (2024). Films in the film roll included the Greg Berlanti-directed Fly Me to the Moon, starring Scarlett Johanssen, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson, and the Brad Pitt-George Clooney combination Wolfs.
The tech giant, which is active in the field of A.I. lagged behind many of its competitors, introducing a range of A.I. features for its devices and cloud services under the banner Apple Intelligence. Siri, the personal voice assistant introduced thirteen years ago, is getting a significant upgrade as part of the effort.
Privacy is one of the reasons Apple has been thinking about AI. Protecting user data was a key issue as the company rolled out the new capabilities. “You shouldn't have to give up all the details of your life to be stored and analyzed in someone's AI cloud,” said Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering at Apple. “With Apple Intelligence, powerful intelligence goes hand in hand with powerful privacy.”
Apple also said it has partnered with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to provide more context and broader knowledge to Apple device users. Later this year, users will be able to access ChatGPT via iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was present in Cupertino for the announcement.
There was plenty more product news, including a new version of the operating system for Vision Pro, the ultra-high-end "spatial computing" headset unveiled at the same 2023 event.
Here's the Apple TV+ clip:
