Apple Exploring Ways to Run Much Larger AI Models Directly on iPhones
Apple has held meetings with PrismML about ways it could use the startup's technology to run much larger AI models directly on iPhones, according to The Information.
The report said PrismML has managed to shrink down Alibaba's open-source large language model Qwen 3.6 to run entirely on an iPhone 17 Pro. The model has 27 billion parameters, which is larger than Apple's on-device AFM 3 Core Advanced model with 20 billion parameters. Apple's model powers iOS 27 enhancements such as Siri AI's more expressive voices and improved systemwide dictation on iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models.
Unlike with AFM 3 Core Advanced, all of Qwen 3.6's parameters can be active at the same time.
"One new on-device Apple model has 20 billion parameters but uses a so-called sparse architecture, in which only 1 billion to 4 billion parameters are active at a time," the report said, in reference to AFM 3 Core Advanced. "In the case of PrismML's on-device model, all 27 billion parameters are active at the same time."
Larger models running directly on iPhones would allow for more Apple Intelligence features to run on device instead of on Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers, which could reduce Apple's costs and further enhance user privacy.
Popular Stories
In May, Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle a U.S. class action lawsuit over Siri AI's delayed launch, and eligible iPhone users could receive up to a $95 payout.
Apple's settlement has now received preliminary approval from a judge, according to a July 17 court document. However, there is no settlement website yet, and it may take months before eligible customers can begin submitting ...
Apple briefly published a support guide in China explaining how Mac users can connect Alibaba's Qwen AI to Siri and Writing Tools, before pulling it entirely less than a day later.
Reuters first spotted the Chinese-language guide on Apple's support site on August 8, which explained how eligible Mac users in mainland China could connect Qwen, Alibaba's family of generative AI models, to Siri...
Reuters reports that Apple has trained its own large language model for the China market, rather than relying on a third-party model to power its Apple Intelligence features in the country.
The LLM has been developed with the help of Alibaba, according to the report's sources. The development marks a break from Apple's previous strategy of relying on domestic models to bring generative AI to ...
