Apple Industry News

Apple appears to be close to launching a generative AI assistant feature for technical support within its official Support app for the iPhone and iPad.

MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris spotted an updated version of Apple’s legalese terms and conditions page, with a new page titled “Terms of Use for the Support Assistant” on the web outlining the risks associated with using generative AI.

“You understand and agree that generative models may occasionally generate incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive or harmful outputs,” reads a passage in the Services section. “To the extent you choose to use Support Assistant, you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with any applicable laws.”

The Apple Support app is about to launch a ChatGPT-style AI assistant

It adds customers shouldn’t rely on outputs from the chatbot as their only source of information or as a substitute for professional advice. You will need an Apple account to use the AI chatbot. The terms of use page was last updated on July 15, meaning a launch will be imminent. This functionality is likely to launch first for customers in the United States, as the page hasn’t been published in any other countries.

The feature probably uses OpenAI technology, as the page states that the chatbot shares information “with our partners who we work with to provide Support Assistant.” Shared information includes pseudonymized serial numbers and redacted chat transcripts with your name, city and state (if you provided this information in the chat) because “this data is used to create the conversational experience.

Last month, MacRumors spotted code strings in the official Apple Support app for the iPhone and iPad indicating the app will gain a ChatGPT-like support chatbot based on generative AI models. Currently, the Apple Support app doesn’t include AI agents, with AI only used for the live chat feature to gather initial information and answer basic questions before a human agent takes over.

An AI-powered assistant might further cut down on wait times and resolve many customer problems without requiring support from a human agent, including answering technical questions about Apple products, payment methods and more.

“Support Assistant is intended for technical support purposes only, and can provide you with answers related to certain Apple products and services,” reads the terms of use page. “Do not use Support Assistant for emergency situations. You may interact with Support Assistant for lawful and appropriate purposes only.”

The company has tons of product documentation available in every language on its support website, which it likely used to train the support chatbot.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/05/apple-support-assistant-close-to-launching/

Apple appears to have scheduled an official keynote to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup for Tuesday, September 9, according to internal documents from German carriers.

The German-language website iPhone-Ticker reported today that information obtained from German mobile phone providers’ internal systems strongly indicates that the iPhone 17 keynote has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 9.

This isn’t the first time we’re learning about a potentila iPhone keynote date via carrier sources. The information corroborates Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who recently predicted that Apple will probably hold the event during the week of September 8. Provided this information is correct, Apple will likely send invites to the press a week before the event on Tuesday, September 2.

iPhone 17 keynote on September 9, retail sale starting on September 19

You can expect the upcoming devices to go on pre-order on the Friday of the same week, and land on store shelves two weeks after the event on Friday, September 19.

• iPhone 17 keynote: Tuesday, September 9
• iPhone 17 pre-orders: Friday, September 12
• iPhone 17 retail availability: Fri, September 19

Like with past launches, the initial wave will include Apple’s most important markets such as the United States, China, Japan, and Europe. A week or two later, the new devices will expand to the remaining markets.

The lineup should comprise a base iPhone 17 model, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air replacing the Plus model, and the usual iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max flagships. And if recent launches are anything to go by, the same event will also serve as a launchpad for the 2025 Apple Watch lineup—Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3—with a third-generation AirPods Pro also potentially in the mix.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/05/apple-iphone-17-keynote-september-9-rumor-german-carrier-sources/