Apple Makes AI the Star as It Unveils iPhone 16

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_05]: Welcome to Tech News Briefing, it's Tuesday, September 10th. I'm Zoe Thomas for the Wall

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_05]: Street Journal.

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_05]: Your body's unique data, aka biometrics, can be used to get you through security or

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_05]: pay for groceries. But how do the companies and government agencies using these systems

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_05]: keep this very personal data safe? We'll tell you.

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_05]: And then, the iPhone 16 has an improved Siri voice assistant and artificial intelligence-powered

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_05]: text and photo editing tools. And Apple is also bringing new health capabilities

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_05]: to its watch and headphones. We'll tell you about these new features and whether investors

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_05]: think they can help slumping iPhone sales.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_05]: First, though, when you go through some airport's security checkpoints, the TSA uses a camera

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_05]: to snap your picture and compare it with the one on your ID. Once they verify you're

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_05]: the same person, that picture is deleted. But the TSA's touchless identity solution

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_05]: is more futuristic. No ID is required to compare against the photo the camera takes.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_05]: The TSA uses background information you've already shared. New biometric systems like

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_05]: this are raising questions about privacy and how data is stored. Here to tell

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_05]: us more is Cordelia James from our personal tech team. Cordelia, a lot of people

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_05]: may be familiar with these systems from something like Face ID on iPhones. How does

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_05]: that technology work?

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_03]: When you set up Face ID on your iPhone, your camera essentially maps out a vector

[00:01:56] [SPEAKER_03]: numerical representation of your face, just often called a face print. That face

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_03]: print gets stored into your phone. And so that way, any time that you try to

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_03]: unlock your phone in the future, it's looking for the same code that it's stored

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_03]: and tries to make a match. If there is a match, then that's how you're able to

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_03]: unlock and access your phone.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_05]: How do these systems differ from public facing ones, like the one I mentioned at

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_05]: some airports?

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_03]: So it differs because this isn't happening on your device. So when it comes to

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_03]: where that mathematical code, that face print is being stored, it's oftentimes

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_03]: being stored in a cloud kind of database. And it's cross referencing the

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_03]: code that is associated with you with those from other people. So in the

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_03]: case of the TSA, they're working with the US Customs and Border Protection's

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Traveler Verification Service, where it's taking the code associated with your

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_03]: face and cross referencing it with other people who are enrolled in the

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_03]: same program.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_05]: You know, another place people might have encountered this type of

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_05]: technology is actually at Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon. How is the

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_05]: company approaching this technology?

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_03]: At Whole Foods, you have Amazon One, which earlier this year, they made it a

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_03]: lot easier for you to enroll in this program using the Amazon One app. You

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_03]: log into your Amazon account and you basically give permission to have the

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_03]: company use your biometrics. And then you take pictures of both of your

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_03]: palms, link that to one of your credit cards. And when you take those

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_03]: pictures of your palms, Amazon sends that over to the cloud so that can

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_03]: create what it calls a palm signature, very similar to that face print

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_03]: that I was talking about earlier. So that mathematical code that they come up

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03]: with. And then from there, once you go to like a Whole Foods and you're

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_03]: looking to buy something at checkout, you just hover your hand over a

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_03]: sensor and it looks for that same palm print in the cloud. And if

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_03]: there's a match, then you can use that to pay.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_05]: These systems tend to use something called liveness detection. Can you

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_05]: tell us how that works?

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_03]: So liveness detection essentially is like this technology that looks for

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_03]: essentially proof of life to make sure that you're not using, let's say like a

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_03]: mask or like a photo or just something in order to try to like cheat the

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_03]: system in a way. And this technology looks for things like micro

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_03]: movements as well as depth and texture that you can't get from a

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_03]: pixelated photo or image. And this is becoming a lot more important now,

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_03]: especially as deep fakes become more popular.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_05]: What are some of the drawbacks and limitations though of these

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_05]: biometric systems?

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Reputable institutions, you can generally trust with this kind of data.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_03]: However, that doesn't mean that these institutions are immune from

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_03]: cybersecurity attacks, data breaches, inaccurate readings.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_03]: That's still a possibility. And there are so many privacy measures

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_03]: that these entities are enacting in order to prevent or limit these

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_03]: kinds of things.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_05]: That was Cordelia James from our personal tech team.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_05]: Coming up, AI was the star of the show as Apple unveiled its new iPhone 16.

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_05]: But it's not the only way the company is trying to lure buyers to its

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_05]: products. We'll tell you more after the break.

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[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_05]: Before Apple unveiled the iPhone 16, the company had already announced

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_05]: the device would have AI features called Apple intelligence.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_05]: At yesterday's event, Apple showed off those new capabilities from

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_05]: editing text to give it the right tone to telling you a dog's

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_05]: breed based on a picture.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_05]: With sluggish iPhone sales of late, Apple is hoping the new AI

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_05]: tools will spur demand.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_05]: Here to tell us more is one of our tech editors, Brad Olson.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_05]: Brad, I'm going to ask you about privacy, but before I do,

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_05]: I just want to play this clip of Apple software chief Craig

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_05]: Federighi talking about the power of Apple intelligence.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Your iPhone is the most personal product in your life.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_02]: It's part of so many things that make you you.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Like your relationships and messages, your photos and memories,

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_02]: your calendar, notes and more.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Now we're bringing together that personal context with the power

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_02]: of generative models to deliver intelligence that understands you.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_05]: Brad, given that, how does the company say it's going to

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_05]: protect users' privacy?

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: They tried to create a lot of the capabilities to have them be

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: on the device itself.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So what that means is basically like if you use chat GPT right now

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: and query another bot, the query goes out into the cloud and then

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: it comes back.

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And so there's this sort of looming question of like, well, how much

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: of my personal questions and information come back?

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: All of the AI buildup, everything that all these companies are doing

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: are built around creating something like an AI assistant, something

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: that will know a fair bit about you in order to be able to

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: help you do things.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Apple is trying to offer some reassurance by saying most of this

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: stuff that we're doing will happen on the device.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: We're not sending out queries that come back.

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And then again, also we have kind of ways of locking down the

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_00]: privacy that they showcased at the event as well.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_05]: And so for AI capabilities that can't be handled on the

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_05]: phone, how are they dealing with privacy concerns there?

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: They talked about locking certain servers and setting that

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: about, but the gist of it is essentially creating systems

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and ways for information to be locked up and not even

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: accessible by them.

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_05]: And how does Apple's new lineup compare to those of rivals like Samsung?

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I mean, AI features have been out.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Samsung introduced them already.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And one of the things that Aaron Tilly, the Wall Street Journal

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: reporter looked at in his reporting is just how have those

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_00]: features resonated with consumers?

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Have those phones flown off the shelves because of AI features?

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_00]: And there's data that the phones haven't done poorly, but it

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: doesn't really show that that's a primary reason people are

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_00]: upgrading their phones yet.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, of course with Apple, there's sort of a track record of them

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_00]: doing something that somebody else has already done in the

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_00]: smartphone space.

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00]: But it really brings that feature to the masses for the

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_00]: first time.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And so that could certainly happen with AI.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_00]: But for investors, the looming question is whether these

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_00]: features will really bring people to upgrade their phones.

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And if it does, if it creates a cycle of upgrading, then that

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_00]: would be really good for Apple.

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_00]: The market is really divided on that question, whether or not

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_00]: that will happen.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_05]: OK, let's talk about some of the other devices Apple showed off.

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_05]: What was the news about AirPods?

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_00]: The biggest news with the AirPods was that the AirPods

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Pro 2, which are already out with the software updates and

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_00]: changes, are going to be capable of acting as an

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_00]: over-the-counter hearing aid.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Anybody's ever used AirPods Pro?

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, if you've used the noise cancellation feature and

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_00]: sort of heard the difference between like having your

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_00]: headphones on with ambient noise and then just using the

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_00]: noise cancellation and how it kind of filters out a lot of

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: the other sound, it's pretty interesting.

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And so the leap into an over-the-counter hearing aid,

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00]: you know, it's something that Apple participated in a

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: lot of research about and is trying to make this another

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_00]: health feature that a lot of people will want.

[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_05]: Brad, the Apple Watch also had some new features,

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_05]: including some health related ones.

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_05]: Can you tell us about that?

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The biggest new feature for the Apple Watch is the

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_00]: ability to detect sleep apnea.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Sleep apnea is a condition that affects a huge amount of

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_00]: people.

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Apple is using algorithmic estimates to figure out when

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_00]: someone's breathing may have stopped even temporarily.

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And like a lot of notifications, like right now

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_00]: they have a notification for something called atrial

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_00]: fibrillation, which kind of means irregular heartbeat.

[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And they can detect that due to the pulse detection

[00:10:45] [SPEAKER_00]: that's available on the Apple Watch.

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And so similarly, they have the capability to see if

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_00]: somebody has a sleep apnea event and just suggest

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_00]: like, hey, you may have this.

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_00]: You may want to get some tests for this and see if

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_00]: there's some relief available.

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_05]: Why is Apple focusing on adding these new health

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_05]: features to its products?

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Health features are something that can draw the

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_00]: different crowd.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_00]: One example for the watch, a lot of elderly people

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_00]: use the watch for fall detection, you know, or anyone

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_00]: really who might be disabled or at risk of falling.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_00]: There's also crash detection.

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_00]: They're just trying to add things that people

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_00]: might find essential or something that is a

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_00]: different reason for maybe a different person or

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_00]: segment of society to buy a product.

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_05]: That was Brad Olson, who's a tech editor at the

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_05]: Wall Street Journal.

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_05]: And that's it for tech news briefing.

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_05]: Today's show was produced by Julie Chang with

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_05]: supervising producer Catherine Millsop.

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm Zoe Thomas for the Wall Street Journal.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_05]: We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_05]: Thanks for listening.