Apple Planning to Test AI Services Using Foxconn Servers

Foxconn will exclusively supply Apple with dedicated servers for training and testing artificial intelligence services, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News (via South China Morning Post).

hey siri banner apple
The servers are to be made in Vietnam due to Apple's plan to diversify its supply chain away from China. Foxconn currently supplies servers to Amazon, OpenAI, and Nvidia for AI applications. Foxconn is already Apple's primary supplier of data center servers.

Last month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple was working on "Apple GPT" artificial intelligence projects that could rival OpenAI's ChatGPT. Apple does not yet have a "clear strategy" for creating a product for consumers, and while it could be planning to make a "significant" AI announcement in 2024, Gurman claims it has no concrete plans as of yet. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the progress of Apple's generative AI technology is significantly behind its competitors and there is no sign that the company plans to launch AI services next year.

During Apple's earnings call last week, CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ said that AI and machine learning are "core fundamental technologies integral to virtually every product" that Apple builds. AI is apparently "absolutely critical" to Apple, with Cook confirming that Apple has been investigating generative AI "for years."

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
maxresdefault

These 5 Features Will Make the iPhone 17 the Biggest Update in Years

Monday July 22, 2024 4:02 pm PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 16 models that we're expecting to see in September are going to be quite similar to the iPhone 15 models, but rumors suggest that Apple is making big changes in 2025. We've been hearing hints of an all-new device in the iPhone lineup, and it may be the most expensive iPhone Apple has offered to date. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. New 'Slim'...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iOS 18 on iPhone Feature

Everything New in iOS 18 Beta 4

Tuesday July 23, 2024 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple released the fourth beta of iOS 18 today, introducing small changes to a number of features throughout the operating system. There are no big additions in this beta, but Apple is continuing to refine existing settings and design choices. Apple plans to continue updating iOS 18 over the next few months, with the update set to be released this fall. We've rounded up all of the changes...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Launch Early Next Year With OLED Display, 48MP Camera, and More

Monday July 22, 2024 7:22 am PDT by
The fourth-generation iPhone SE will offer a series of major upgrades over the current model, the leaker known as "Ice Universe" claims. The information was listed in a post on Weibo, which also detailed the specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup. As previously rumored, the fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to feature Face ID and USB-C, marking a major upgrade from current and previous ...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...

Top Rated Comments

ghanwani Avatar
13 months ago

AI is the biggest threat to Apple's entire ecosystem.

GPT4 is demonstrating that an LLM can be your super personal assistant. And if LLMs can be your super personal assistant, your iPhone is suddenly no longer that important.

For example, need to plan and book a trip? Just tell your LLM to do it. It can even book tickets for you.

The flight is canceled and you're stranded? No problem. Ask your LLM to automatically call the flight company's customer service department to get a refund and check to see if their terms and service will provide a hotel for you. If so, have the LLM book a hotel.

None of this requires anything other than a screen, an internet connection, and your LLM personal assistant. You don't need to juggle different apps to do this. Just tell your LLM what you want. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you're using an iPhone or a $50 junk phone.
Yeah except that instead of booking the hotel in London, Kentucky it’ll book a hotel in the UK and then you’ll be stuck with paying for it because it’s too late to cancel. Not sure which world you’re living in. The one where I live, big tech cannot even get spam filtering right.

The AI bust, just like the AI boom, is gonna be epic.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
13 months ago

Not yet with the recently deteriorating quality of the answers.
Sure. It's still amazing. I throw a very technical document at it, ask it complicated questions, and GPT4 gets it right every time.

Maybe it isn't GPT4, maybe GPT5, or GPT6 or another company that will succeed at providing a super assistant.

Bottom line is, AI is a huge threat to Apple.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
13 months ago
AI is the biggest threat to Apple's entire ecosystem.

GPT4 is demonstrating that an LLM can be your super personal assistant. And if LLMs can be your super personal assistant, your iPhone is suddenly no longer that important.

For example, need to plan and book a trip? Just tell your LLM to do it. It can even book tickets for you.

The flight is canceled and you're stranded? No problem. Ask your LLM to automatically call the flight company's customer service department to get a refund and check to see if their terms and service will provide a hotel for you. If so, have the LLM book a hotel.

None of this requires anything other than a screen, an internet connection, and your LLM personal assistant. You don't need to juggle different apps to do this. Just tell your LLM what you want. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you're using an iPhone or a $50 junk phone.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
13 months ago

AI is the biggest threat to Apple's entire ecosystem.
Apple's ecosystem is made up of their devices and services.

You'll still need a device to use A.I. and you're still going to buy an Apple Watch for its fitness and health tracking features.

How is A.I. going to replace an Apple sevice like Apple Pay, Card, Savings, iCloud, News, Music, TV+, etc.? Is A.I. going to make people consume less content (news, music, video, games)?


GPT4 is demonstrating that an LLM can be your super personal assistant. And if LLMs can be your super personal assistant, your iPhone is suddenly no longer that important.
You're telling me people will be using their iPhone less? People won't be browsing Facebook/Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok, etc? People are going to be taking less pictures/videos and posting them online? People are going to give up being influencers and content creators? On the contrary, I think generative A.I. will see more people creating and editing content on their iPhones.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobmans Avatar
13 months ago

Sure. It's still amazing. I throw a very technical document at it, ask it complicated questions, and GPT4 gets it right every time.

Maybe it isn't GPT4, maybe GPT5, or GPT6 or another company that will succeed at providing a super assistant.

Bottom line is, AI is a huge threat to Apple.
"AI" in the form of LLM's aren't a huge threat to any company that has money. Everyone with enough money to purchase 10's of thousands of A100/H100 from Nvidia can easily catch up and create the next LLM that beats all the current ones.

Also, not a single company is going to release a LLM assistant like there's Google Assistant / Siri / Bixi. It's way too expensive to operate.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lkrupp Avatar
13 months ago

I'm an AAPL investor. I think about competitive threats to Apple all the time. AI is the single biggest threat. It might not come to fruition. But it's currently the biggest threat.

If a company ever creates an AI super assistant, watch out.
Yes, the classic “this time it’s different” response. You are welcome to your opinion, of course.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)