On Monday, Apple’s checklist of finalists for its coveted “iPhone App of the Yr” award as soon as once more reveals how the iPhone maker is downplaying the affect of AI expertise on the cell app ecosystem. Because it did final yr, Apple’s 2024 checklist of high iPhone finalists favors extra conventional iOS apps, together with those who assist iPhone customers carry out particular duties like recording skilled video (Kino), tailoring their working plans (Runna), or organizing their travels (Tripsy). Different AI apps like ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and those who create AI photographs or movies weren’t nominated for iPhone App of the Yr.
Given the recognition of ChatGPT, additionally now an Apple associate for its Siri enhancements, it’s shocking to seek out the app has not earned any official year-end accolades from Apple’s App Retailer editorial group, regardless of its adoption of intelligent new options in 2024, like an Superior Voice Mode for chatting with the AI digital assistant and a net search characteristic that challenges Google.
Whereas ChatGPT is frequently featured inside the App Retailer and Google Play’s editorial ideas, each Apple and Google final yr averted nominating ChatGPT as an general winner, regardless of the app changing into the fastest-growing client utility in historical past in early 2023 when it reached 100 million customers shortly after its launch. This yr, Google dubbed party-planning app Partiful its app of the yr.
Regardless of ChatGPT’s snub, a small variety of AI-powered apps made appearances on Apple’s different 2024 finalist lists, like these for the iPad and Mac App of the Yr.
However amongst Apple’s checklist of 45 finalists throughout varied classes in apps and video games, AI-powered apps have been talked about just a few occasions. Moises, an app that provides AI instruments for working towards music, was nominated alongside children app Bluey: Let’s Play and animation app Procreate Goals for iPad App of the Yr. Adobe Lightroom, which now consists of AI-powered options, was nominated together with productiveness app OmniFocus 4 and 3D design app Shapr3D for Mac App of the Yr.
And, amongst a dozen Cultural Affect finalists, just one — language-learning app EF Whats up — was described by Apple as an app enhanced by AI expertise. (Whereas different apps could use AI beneath the hood, because the finalist Pinterest does, their App Retailer advertising doesn’t promote them as “AI” apps to shoppers.)
If something, Apple’s curated checklist of finalists means that apps empowering human creativity, not these helping with AI automation, are the apps which can be worthy of highlighting. A lot of the finalists’ apps assist customers do one thing extra with their iPhone or different gadget, with out counting on an AI assistant or options, whether or not that’s designing, organizing, filming, creating, or taking part in.
Kino, the professional video app from the makers of the professional digital camera app Halide, as an example, goals to make everybody a greater videographer, whereas others assist Apple’s gadgets work as productiveness instruments for these in inventive fields.
This yr, Apple additionally added the brand new Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional class, the place it’s going to decide each an app and sport winner.
