Source: Wall Street News
Currently, Google's parent company Alphabet pays Apple about 20 billion dollars a year to make Google the default search engine for its Safari browser. Analysts believe that Apple's new “visual intelligence” function has introduced a new model of interaction with software and services. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, users can talk or send text with AI assistants through a new interface rather than relying on app store apps to complete tasks.
With Apple announcing the “Visual Intelligence” (Visual Intelligence) feature at Monday's press conference, analysts believe that $Apple (AAPL.US)$ versus $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ The search partnership is undergoing a new transformation.
Currently, Google's parent company Alphabet pays Apple about 20 billion dollars a year to make Google the default search engine for its Safari browser. However, the move was ruled by a US court to violate US antitrust law. This case is America's biggest antitrust case in more than 20 years, and Google's dominant position in the search market for decades may be disrupted. As for Apple, the Wall Street News article stated that without this revenue, about 15% of Apple's profit before tax would be affected.
But now, Apple seems to be able to “upgrade” its collaboration with Google with a new feature released: iPhone 16 users can click on the new camera control button (Capture Button) on the device to access Google's search engine and its visual search function.
Apple explained that the camera control buttons not only allow users to quickly take pictures or record videos, but also adjust options such as zoom, exposure, or depth of field by sliding the buttons.
However, this button also provides access to Apple's new “visually intelligent” search function, which is the key to partnering with Google.
At first, this camera control button looked like Apple's new name for a “shutter button,” but as the press conference progressed, Apple further explained more uses for this hardware feature. Through the visual intelligence search function, users can not only easily understand everything the camera sees, but also more easily access third-party services through this function without having to launch a standalone app.
According to some media analysts, this function is essentially similar to Google's Google Lens or Pinterest Lens, and Apple describes intelligent visual search as a way to instantly understand what you see. In several examples, Apple has demonstrated how users can click on a camera control button to get information on the opening hours of restaurants seen in the city, or how to use this feature to identify the breed of dog they see while walking. The feature also transforms the event poster on the wall into a personal schedule with all the details.
Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, later mentioned that the feature can also be used to access Google searches. The demo shows that when the user points the iPhone at a bike and clicks the camera control button, a purchase information window with similar options pops up on the screen. The “More Google Results” button displayed on the screen afterwards indicates that users can continue their Google search by clicking again.
However, Apple didn't explain when or how to click the camera control button to turn to a third-party partner, rather than a built-in Apple service to provide answers, nor did it detail how users can control or configure this feature. Federighi only vaguely mentioned: “Of course, you always have control over when to use third-party tools.”
Although a Google spokesperson said there is currently no further information to share, the feature is believed to be part of an existing partnership between the two companies and has nothing to do with Google's Gemini AI.
Analysts believe that the interesting thing about this feature is that it introduces a new model for interacting with software and services, surpassing the services that Apple comes with the iPhone. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, users can talk to or text AI assistants through a new interface instead of relying on app store apps to complete tasks. By cooperating with third-party services, Apple maintains close ties with emerging technologies while avoiding direct competition with AI tools such as ChatGPT.
At the press conference, OpenAI's ChatGPT also showed its features as a third-party partner, and users can access ChatGPT through Siri. The demo shows that users only need to point their phone at class notes and click a button to get help with a concept or question.
Editor/jayden