Apple to develop AI chip for iPhone

Image: Representational/AP

New York: Owing to the increasing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI), technology giant Apple is working on a dedicated artificial intelligence chip that would power AI-related tasks on mobile devices, The Verge quoted a Bloomberg report saying. The chip, which is reportedly being called the Apple Neural Engine, is being designed to ease the burden of tasks that are heavily dependent on facial and speech recognition algorithms, apart from computer vision tasks deployed with augmented reality. The chip, however, is believed to enhance the battery life of an iPhone, enabling smoother performance. In the recent past, it has been indicated that AI, robotics and augmented reality hare garnering widespread technological importance in supporting other technology such as visual recognition, automation and so on. Earlier in February, the company announced its expansion plans, thereby broadening base for AI and machine learning-related functions. Although the official launch date have not been disclosed, yet the report says that Apple has begun trial runs with prototype devices.