Apple bets on "ambient AI" without the always-recording baggage

Apple debuted Apple Watch and iPhone features that could put its mark on the AI era. Apple is aiming to show it can be more private and useful, even as it plays catch-up to the state of the art in AI. In an era where plenty of tech companies are offering AI transcription gadgets that record entire conversations, Apple is making the case for a different approach. Rather than store recorded audio, Apple is transcribing what its microphones pick up, and providing certain highlights back to the user without attribution to specific speakers. Highlights can be the just-recorded 15 seconds or a daily recap. Apple also debuted Apple Reference Image, a feature in the iPhone 18 Pro that records verifiable proof that an image hasn't been altered (by AI or otherwise).