Modern Workplace: Hardware and Software Symbiosis Becomes a Triad with AI

apple intellligence on devices

Apple is a pioneer in the symbiosis of hardware and software and is continuously setting standards in creative and productive work. Anyone who paid attention at the Apple event in September will have discovered a new benchmark. Our colleague Sures, Head of IT Services for over 20 years, reports.

From R2E Micral to Hardware that Brings Joy

R2E Micral, Osborne 1, Zenith SupersPort or IBM PS/2 note – if you remember the laptops of the 80s and 90s, you don’t think of “mobile and performance”, but rather of “ugly and heavy”. Jonathan Ive, head designer at Apple until 2019, and Steve Jobs wanted to change that. They thought about how work could be more enjoyable. The bulky laptops, which screamed “office” and “work” from their appearance, did not meet Jobs’ standards of “creativity” and “joy”. So, the concept of combining hardware and software was born. Perfected over the following decades, Apple converged into a seamless ecosystem with different devices such as MacBooks, iPhones, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro and integrated applications with optimal continuity.

“When we talk about design in the modern world, it's the perfect symbiosis of hardware and software”

He has a vision of a heterogeneous, diverse IT landscape in which everything is seamlessly connected. And this vision is becoming more and more of a reality today – also in interaction with Microsoft Office products and others. And now it’s getting exciting – because if we look at the Apple event from the perspective of symbiosis, we discover a new player: AI, Apple Intelligence.

The new Symbiosis of Hardware, Software and AI

The description of AI in the press release begins with “Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, harnessing the full power of Apple chips to understand and generate speech and images, perform actions in apps, and simplify and speed up everyday tasks with personalized context.”  This announcement promises a fully functional fusion of all components – and announces AI as a new binding element in Apple’s ecosystem.

Deeply Anchored in Hardware and Software in the Future

Apple’s press release headlines “A big step forward in AI privacy” and continues: “Apple Intelligence is designed to protect user privacy every step of the way. An important building block of Apple Intelligence is on-device processing, and many of the underlying models are run entirely on the device”. For greater computing power, Private Cloud Compute also brings the privacy and security of Apple devices to the cloud to enable even more intelligence. According to Apple, this is a real breakthrough in server-based intelligence. User data will never be stored at Apple or shared with Apple, but will only be used to execute the request.

Also exciting: While Apple used to develop everything themselves, they now rely on ChatGPT when it comes to artificial intelligence. They still set it up themselves within the operating system, but outside and in the Large Language Model, their own AIs are not yet ready, so they rely on ChatGPT here. When users then access ChatGPT via Siri or the writing tools, data protection precautions are integrated: The IP address is not visible and OpenAI does not store any requests. It is free to use without having an account. ChatGPT’s data usage guidelines only apply when an account is to be connected.

What AI Could Mean for the Modern Workplace

1. Increased Productivity with Siri and Natural Language Processing

Advances in Siri’s natural language processing (NLP) promise better task management and contextual understanding. Companies could automate routine tasks, improve communication and streamline workflows.

Apple’s Core ML framework gives companies the ability to perform predictive analytics to analyze customer behavior, predict trends and optimize decision-making processes.

Apple’s Vision Framework enables the interpretation of visual data and could therefore improve the customer experience through visual search functions, medical image analysis and inventory management.

Apple’s AI-driven security features, such as Face ID and on-device machine learning, are meant to help protect sensitive business data and ensure reliable protection against unauthorized access.

Apple’s productivity apps like Pages and Keynote now have AI extensions that automate formatting, suggest content improvements and generate data insights so teams can focus on creative and strategic work.

Reality Check: AI at the Modern Workplace in Germany

Software and hardware optimizations regularly provide more powerful components while bringing new features – contributing to a Modern Workplace with satisfied employees. With the latest developments around AI as a whole and Apple’s AI, a component has now been added that brings uncertainty besides the high enthusiasm, also and, in some cases, dissatisfaction with the AI results:

  • In Germany, there will initially be a difference between iPhones / iPads and MacBooks, because the former device categories fall under the Digital Market Act, so Apple is very cautious about activating the new AI functions in the EU and will not introduce AI on these devices until they feel secure enough.
  • On the other hand, there are still many uncertainties regarding AI when it comes to the tools. For example, regarding data protection or device security. Even if Apple promises a lot, it will first have to prove itself in reality – and in the enterprise, context management options and IT teams will play a major role.
  • Thirdly, there is a lack of clarity about the specific application scenarios and the quality of the results. Many AI functions are not new, but have been used by other tech giants in their products for longer and more extensively. Initial experience reports show that people do not know exactly how to use the functions or are disappointed with the quality of the results, meaning that the tools may not be used as much as initially thought.
    We all know that AI in general and Apple’s AI are the future. However, it remains to be seen to what extent and how widely these functions will be used. It is and will remain a major topic that has to combine many things – data protection, security, compliance and ultimately employee skills.

Conclusion

We all know that AI in general and Apple’s AI are the future. However, it remains to be seen to what extent and how widely these functions will be used. It is and will remain a major topic that has to combine many things – data protection, security, compliance and ultimately employee skills.

As EBF, we stand for a Modern Workplace in which device progress and modern device management should lead to greater efficiency and more satisfied employees. We are therefore continuing to keep an eye on AI developments and are curious to see how Apple and the EU will come to an agreement and what the actual use of AI will look like in reality. The first experience reports will probably be available at the end of October when iOS 18.1 is rolled out.

Our sales and consulting team can tell you how to optimally align your device fleet and software tool landscape with a Modern Workplace. Contact us here.

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