After a long period of exploration and numerous strategic adjustments, Apple's generative AI strategy finally seems to have a clearer direction, with a core focus on "openness and choice." According to Bloomberg News reporter Mark Gurman...Latest reportsIt has been pointed out that Apple is planning to allow users to freely choose which device performs generative AI tasks when requesting the device to perform generative AI tasks in the upcoming iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.AI models developed by third partiesPerforming calculations, symbolizingApple Intelligence's Deployment StrategyThe move towards "platformization" signifies a strategic compromise by Apple in the AI race.
Expansion Mechanism: Turning Siri into a "Super Gateway" for Various AI Systems
According to reports, this new feature is internally referred to as "Extensions" at Apple. In the future, any AI developers willing to join and add support to their App Store applications could become the underlying brain driving Apple Intelligence's core tools.
In leaked beta software information, Apple described the feature as follows: "Extensions allow you to access generative AI capabilities in installed apps as needed through Apple Intelligence features such as Siri, Writing Tools, and Image Park."
This means that in the future, when users ask Siri on their iPhones to help them compose a letter or generate an image, the underlying system may no longer be Apple's own basic model. Instead, users can specify that models from OpenAI, Anthropic, or other third-party AI companies will take over the computation.
From testing the waters with ChatGPT to fully transforming into a "model supermarket"
Back in March, Bloomberg News hinted that Apple's future AI chatbots would support a variety of AI models. Looking back over the past few years, since Apple first integrated OpenAI's ChatGPT into its Apple Intelligence system to handle some complex generative AI tasks, the outside world has been watching to see if Apple would release a powerful, self-developed model capable of completely replacing its competitors.
But now it seems that Apple has chosen a completely different path: instead of going all out to create a single model that competes with its rivals in terms of parameters and computing power, it is better to turn iOS into a highly flexible "AI model supermarket".
Analysis of viewpoints
Apple's decision to open up third-party AI models in iOS 27 is one of the most intriguing strategic shifts in the tech industry in recent years.
For a long time, Apple has been most proud of its "walled garden" strategy—keeping everything in-house, from chips and operating systems to software services, to ensure the best integrated experience and privacy control. However, in the field of generative AI, the iteration speed and cost of foundation models far exceed those of traditional software development. Apple clearly realizes that training a comprehensive, all-around model from scratch that surpasses the GPT series or Claude family in a short period of time is not only extremely costly, but may also be too late.
Therefore, Apple chose to take a step back and embrace diversity.
Through its "expansion" mechanism, Apple is essentially transforming itself into a "super aggregator" for the AI era. It no longer focuses on providing the most intelligent underlying AI, but instead firmly controls the "user interface" and "system-level permissions" (such as Siri and writing tools). For users, this brings unprecedented flexibility, while for Apple, it allows it to instantly access the market's most advanced AI capabilities, while shifting the high costs of model training and inference to third-party developers.
Although this approach goes against Apple's past closed philosophy, in this rapidly evolving era of AI, it may be the best way for Apple to gracefully participate in the core conversations about AI and ensure that the iPhone remains the most powerful AI platform on the planet.
