Apple’s iOS 18 public beta 2 has arrived, with new wallpapers for CarPlay, a newly designed Hidden Apps folder in the Apps Library and the ability to use dark mode widgets in broad daylight, among other updates. Public beta 2 includes iPadOS 18, but does not include Apple Intelligence, which is expected this fall. However, a separate Apple Intelligence preview was introduced this week. In addition, a new Apple research paper leads some to believe its Apple Intelligence AI models were pre-trained in the cloud using Google Tensor Processing Units, leading to speculation that Big Tech be considering alternatives to Nvidia. But Apple has always been an AI outlier.

“Apple’s choice of Google’s homegrown Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for training was detailed in a technical paper just published by the company,” writes CNBC, which notes that “Apple doesn’t name Google or Nvidia in its 47-page paper, but did note its Apple Foundation Model (AFM) and AFM server are trained on ‘Cloud TPU clusters.’ That means Apple rented servers from a cloud provider to perform the calculations.”

Google is hardly the only provider of AI cloud computing. When Apple announced Apple Intelligence the only AI provider it mentioned by name was OpenAI, which was said to be providing some ChatGPT functionality. OpenAI works with Microsoft’s Azure cloud.

CNBC reports that separate from the research paper, an Apple Intelligence preview that works with some devices was released Monday.

Based on the preview, CNBC explains Apple Intelligence “includes several new features, such as a refreshed look for Siri, better natural language processing and AI-generated summaries in text fields,” adding that Apple plans to roll out generative AI features over the next year.

Those future upgrades will include “image generation, emoji generation and a powered-up Siri that can access the user’s personal information and take actions inside of apps,” according to CNBC.

The iOS 18 public beta 2 comes on the heels of last week’s release of developer beta 4 and includes those updates and features. Only those enrolled in Apple’s public beta program can use iOS 18 public beta 2, but 9to5Mac says it’s not too late to enroll, and provides instructions.

Related:
Apple Signs AI Safety Pact Alongside OpenAI and Meta — Here’s What It Means, Tom’s Guide, 7/30/24
Apple Says It Took a ‘Responsible’ Approach to Training its Apple Intelligence Models, TechCrunch, 7/29/24
The Google Pixel 9 Could Get One of Apple Intelligence’s Coolest Features Before any iPhone, TechRadar, 7/29/24