Apple is developing a new server chip that is designed to enable support for features powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in partnership with semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom, according to a report. The company previously announced that it would offload processing for some of its Apple Intelligence features to the cloud, but it has yet to utilise its own processor tailored for AI applications. Apple has also rolled out support for additional Apple Intelligence features on iOS, iPadOS and Mac computers, including ChatGPT integration with Siri.
Apple Reportedly Developing ‘Baltra’ Server Chip for AI Processing
Citing three persons familiar with the company’s plans, The Information reports that Apple is working on a server chip for AI applications. The iPhone maker already produces its own processors for its devices, which offer some on-device AI features, and the new in-house chip could be used to perform AI processing on Apple’s servers.
Apple’s new server chip for AI processing is codenamed Baltra, according to the publication, and the companies are said to be working on the networking technology used by the processor, which will be used to perform AI tasks requested by a user on the cloud.
The company’s latest iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates — released on Wednesday — introduced new on-device Apple Intelligence features like Genmoji and Image Playground, as well as ChatGPT integration which requires access to the internet.
The report states that the chip design is likely to be completed within a year, but it is currently unclear whether it will be used to power the company’s existing AI features via Apple’s Private Cloud Compute (PCC) cloud-based AI processing system that was announced earlier this year.
With PCC, the company says it can offer support for Apple Intelligence features that rely on much larger server-based models — these currently run on Apple Silicon chips — to perform AI tasks that are too complex for on-device processing. Earlier this year, Apple stated that it would not store user data on PCC servers, except for handling a request and that users would be able to verify the company’s privacy claims.
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