WWDC 2025: Apple recalibrates AI approach, all OS get redesigned and app focus
Apple unveils iOS 26 with major AI and design upgrades. Features include Liquid Glass interface, Apple Intelligence, enhanced Messages, Phone, and Maps apps, on-device AI processing, and a new Games app. Developer beta available now, public beta in July, full release expected September 2025.
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Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Apple researchers show how popular AI models ‘collapse' at complex problems
A new research paper by a group of people at Apple has said that artificial intelligence (AI) 'reasoning' is not all that it is cracked up to be. Through an analysis of some of the most popular large reasoning models in the market, the paper showed that their accuracy faces a 'complete collapse' beyond a certain complexity threshold. The researchers put to the test models like OpenAI o3-mini (medium and high configurations), DeepSeek-R1, DeepSeek-R1-Qwen-32B, and Claude-3.7- Sonnet (thinking). Their findings showed that the AI industry may be grossly overstating these models' capabilities. They also benchmarked these large reasoning models (LRMs) with large language models (LLMs) with no reasoning capabilities, and found that in some cases, the latter outperformed the former. 'In simpler problems, reasoning models often identify correct solutions early but inefficiently continue exploring incorrect alternatives — an 'overthinking' phenomenon. At moderate complexity, correct solutions emerge only after extensive exploration of incorrect paths. Beyond a certain complexity threshold, models completely fail to find correct solutions,' the paper said, adding that this 'indicates LRMs possess limited self-correction capabilities that, while valuable, reveal fundamental inefficiencies and clear scaling limitations'. For semantics, LLMs are AI models trained on vast text data to generate human-like language, especially in tasks such as translation and content creation. LRMs prioritise logical reasoning and problem-solving, focusing on tasks requiring analysis, like math or coding. LLMs emphasise language fluency, while LRMs focus on structured reasoning. To be sure, the paper's findings are a dampener on the promise of large reasoning models, which many have touted as a frontier breakthrough to understand and assist humans in solving complex problems, in sectors such as health and science. Apple researchers evaluated reasoning capabilities of LRMs through four controllable puzzle environments, which allowed them fine-grained control over complexity and rigorous evaluation of reasoning: Tower of Hanoi: It involves moving n disks between three pegs following specific rules, with complexity determined by the number of disks. Checker Jumping: This requires swapping red and blue checkers on a one-dimensional board, with complexity scaled by the number of checkers. River Crossing: This is a constraint satisfaction puzzle where and actors and n agents must cross a river, controlled by the number of actor/agent pairs and boat capacity. Blocks World: Focuses on rearranging blocks into a target configuration, with complexity managed by the number of blocks. 'Most of our experiments are conducted on reasoning models and their non-thinking counterparts, such as Claude 3.7 Sonnet (thinking/non-thinking) and DeepSeek-R1/V3. We chose these models because they allow access to the thinking tokens, unlike models such as OpenAI's o-series. For experiments focused solely on final accuracy, we also report results on the o-series models,' the researchers said. The researchers found that as problem complexity increased, the accuracy of reasoning models progressively declined. Eventually, their performance reached a complete collapse (zero accuracy) beyond a specific, model-dependent complexity threshold. Initially, reasoning models increased their thinking tokens proportionally with problem complexity. This indicates that they exerted more reasoning effort for more difficult problems. However, upon approaching a critical threshold (which closely corresponded to their accuracy collapse point), these models counter-intuitively began to reduce their reasoning effort (measured by inference-time tokens), despite the increasing problem difficulty. Their work also found that in cases where problem complexity is low, non-thinking models (LLMs) were capable to obtain performance comparable to, or even better than thinking models with more token-efficient inference. With medium complexity, the advantage of reasoning models capable of generating long chain-of-thought began to manifest, and the performance gap between LLMs and LRMs increased. But, where problem complexity is higher, the performance of both models collapsed to zero. 'Results show that while thinking models delay this collapse, they also ultimately encounter the same fundamental limitations as their non-thinking counterparts,' the paper said. It is worth noting though that the researchers have acknowledged their work could have limitations: 'While our puzzle environments enable controlled experimentation with fine-grained control over problem complexity, they represent a narrow slice of reasoning tasks and may not capture the diversity of real-world or knowledge-intensive reasoning problems.' Soumyarendra Barik is Special Correspondent with The Indian Express and reports on the intersection of technology, policy and society. With over five years of newsroom experience, he has reported on issues of gig workers' rights, privacy, India's prevalent digital divide and a range of other policy interventions that impact big tech companies. He once also tailed a food delivery worker for over 12 hours to quantify the amount of money they make, and the pain they go through while doing so. In his free time, he likes to nerd about watches, Formula 1 and football. ... Read More
New Indian Express
21 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Apple unveils software redesign while reeling from AI missteps, tech upheaval and Trump's trade war
CUPERTINO (California): After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech's pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology. The presummer rite, which attracted thousands of developers from nearly 60 countries to Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters, subdued compared with the feverish anticipation that surrounded the event in the last two years. Apple highlighted plans for more AI tools designed to simplify people's lives and make its products even more intuitive. It also provided an early glimpse at the biggest redesign of its iPhone software in a decade. In doing so, Apple executives refrained from issuing bold promises of breakthroughs that punctuated recent conferences, prompting CFRA analyst Angelo Zino to deride the event as a "dud" in a research note. More AI, but what about Siri? In 2023, Apple unveiled a mixed-reality headset that has been little more than a niche product, and last year WWDC trumpeted its first major foray into the AI craze with an array of new features highlighted by the promise of a smarter and more versatile version of its virtual assistant, Siri — a goal that has yet to be realized. "This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar," Craig Federighi, Apple's top software executive, said Monday at the outset of the conference. The company didn't provide a precise timetable for when Siri's AI upgrade will be finished but indicated it won't happen until next year at the earliest. "The silence surrounding Siri was deafening," said Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said. "No amount of text corrections or cute emojis can fill the yawning void of an intuitive, interactive AI experience that we know Siri will be capable of when ready. We just don't know when that will happen. The end of the Siri runway is coming up fast, and Apple needs to lift off." Is Apple, with its 'liquid glass,' still a trendsetter? The showcase unfolded amid nagging questions about whether Apple has lost some of the mystique and innovative drive that has made it a tech trendsetter during its nearly 50-year history. Instead of making a big splash as it did with the Vision Pro headset and its AI suite, Apple took a mostly low-key approach that emphasized its effort to spruce up the look of its software with a new design called "Liquid Glass" while also unveiling a new hub for its video games and new features like a "Workout Buddy" to help manage physical fitness. Apple executives promised to make its software more compatible with the increasingly sophisticated computer chips that have been powering its products while also making it easier to toggle between the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. "Our product experience has become even more seamless and enjoyable," Apple CEO Tim Cook told the crowd as the 90-minute showcase wrapped up. IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said Apple seemed to be largely using Monday's conference to demonstrate the company still has a blueprint for success in AI, even if it's going to take longer to realize the vision that was presented a year ago. "This year's event was not about disruptive innovation, but rather careful calibration, platform refinement and developer enablement —positioning itself for future moves rather than unveiling game-changing technologies," Jeronimo said. Apple's next operating system will be iOS 26 Besides redesigning its software. Apple will switch to a method that automakers have used to telegraph their latest car models by linking them to the year after they first arrive at dealerships. That means the next version of the iPhone operating system due out this autumn will be known as iOS 26 instead of iOS 19 — as it would be under the previous naming approach that has been used since the device's 2007 debut. The iOS 26 upgrade is expected to be released in September around the same time Apple traditionally rolls out the next iPhone models. Playing catchup in AI Apple opened the proceedings with a short video clip featuring Federighi speeding around a track in a Formula 1 race car. Although it was meant to promote the June 27 release of the Apple film, "F1" starring Brad Pitt, the segment could also be viewed as an unintentional analogy to the company's attempt to catch up to the rest of the pack in AI technology. While some of the new AI tricks compatible with the latest iPhones began rolling out late last year as part of free software updates, the delays in a souped-up Siri became so glaring that the chastened company stopped promoting it in its marketing campaigns earlier this year.
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
iOS 26: Check release date, full list of supported iPhones, new features, and why Apple skipped iOS 19
Why iOS 26 and not iOS 19? iOS 26 release date iOS 26 release date in India iOS 26 Developer Beta 1 availability and how to activate Live Events iOS 26 Supported iPhone models iOS 26 Features: Focus on Apple Intelligence iOS 26 AI-based battery management iOS 26 New Features: "Liquid Glass" iOS 26 roll out timeline ios 26 Devices List: iPhones that support iOS 26 Apple Intelligence: feature availability limited to newer iPhones Image generation Content summarisation Advanced personal assistant tools (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Apple is expected to unveil iOS 26 at its WWDC event today, skipping iOS 18 and aligning the new name with the year of its mainstream rollout. The final version of iOS 26 is likely to launch globally on September 16, 2025, around a week after the debut of the iPhone 17 has announced a shift in how it names its iOS versions. Going forward, the version number will reflect the upcoming calendar year—similar to how automobile companies label their models. As a result, this year's release is called. This change also applies to macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. iOS 26 is expected to introduce a glass-like user interface with softer icons, rounded edges, and refreshed system apps. This is the first significant redesign since iOS its usual update cycle, Apple is expected to release the final version of iOS 26 on September 16, 2025. This typically takes place the Tuesday after its annual iPhone launch latest iOS release is likely to be rolled out in India along with global release. However, the company has not made any official announcement regarding the same. iOS 26 Developer Beta 1 will be available immediately after today's keynote. Public Beta 1 is expected on July 15, 2025. Users can join by following these steps:Back up the deviceNavigate to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta UpdatesSelect Developer or Public Beta and install the updateiOS 26 is expected to support all iPhones currently running iOS 18. However, support for models using the A12 Bionic chip, such as iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, may be discontinued. The following models are likely to receive the update:iPhone 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, and 11 seriesiPhone SE (2nd generation and later)Apple plans to strengthen its AI features in iOS 26. Updates are expected to improve Writing Tools, Genmoji, and Image Playground. A major upgrade to Siri is still under development. Apple is reportedly in talks with Google to integrate Gemini AI into may use on-device AI to personalise battery performance based on a user's daily habits. This feature could be especially useful for thinner models like the iPhone 17 officially announced iOS 26 during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025. The new OS introduces a redesigned interface, new AI-powered tools, and a refined user introduced a new design language called 'Liquid Glass' in iOS 26. This redesign affects the system menus, widgets, notifications, and lock screen, giving them more depth and motion while retaining the core home screen layout. Native apps like Photos and Camera now have updated layouts focused on ease of use and immediately after the announcement at WWDC in July in September 2025, coinciding with the launch of the iPhone 17 26 will require devices with an A13 Bionic chip or newer. The eligible models include:iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro MaxiPhone SE (2nd generation and later)iPhone 12 series (12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max)iPhone 13 series (13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max)iPhone 14 series (14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max)iPhone 15 series (15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max)iPhone 16 series, including iPhone 16eOlder models like iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max will not support iOS 26. However, they will continue to receive security updates on iOS 18 for a limited many iPhones will be able to install iOS 26, not all will support Apple Intelligence features, such as:According to Apple, these AI features require at least the A17 Pro chip. Full Apple Intelligence access will be limited to:Other supported devices will only receive the visual and system-wide updates, not the new AI-powered tools.
