Apple is heavily focusing on its AI wing, taking the lead from other market leaders such as OpenAI and Microsoft. In their latest attempt, the tech giant has released a tool called Keyframer that will allow users to animate static images using text commands.
Apple’s new research paper includes a small guide on how to use the tool. It’s pretty simple, all that you have to do is upload an SVG image and put in a text prompt. The app will then create a CSS animation which you can use later edit as per your preferences.
For example, you can input the image of a static balloon and add a command to make it rise up.
This update comes at the heels of another big announcement from the company— the MGIE tool which lets you edit photos with just voice commands.
Right now, Apple is targeting graphic designers with this tool. The company believes that it will serve as a great way to test out ideas before the user can create them.
In fact, the tool has been made with insights from graphic designers and engineers through interviewers so it perfectly caters to their needs such as content refining and direct editing of the generated output.
While there are several AI editing tools already on the market, Apple believes that Keyframer is the “most powerful” one of all.
Last year alone, Apple purchased 32 AI firms which makes it seem like it’s trying to surpass its competitors very quickly.
There’s also a scope for introducing the app to a wider audience in the future. After all, in this content-driven world, designers aren’t the only ones who need good tools.
Content creators and small businesses are always on the lookout for tools that can automate the process, saving them the need to hire a content team.
It’s important to note that both Keyframer and MGIE are very new technologies, so we shouldn’t expect them to have public access anytime soon. Also, Apple’s “the biggest iOS update ever” happening later this year, which is supposed to be AI-heavy, will probably not have these updates.
Although OpenAI and Google have enjoyed the most part of the limelight when it comes to AI, it looks like Apple has been making some steady moves in silence.
The company has been heavily investing in AI startups and technologies. For example, reports suggest that it’s planning to take over a German AI company called Brighter AI— an image-privacy-focused company.
At the end of 2023, its research team also launched three brilliant technologies—ML Explore machine learning framework for Apple Silicon, the ability to run Large Language Models (LLM)-based AI properly on devices, and Ferret, an open-source multimodal large language model.
There’s an AI arms race going on, and Apple is not going to be on the outside looking in.Daniel Ives, Wedbush Securities analyst
We are still not sure how these acquisitions fit in the bigger picture or what Apple’s long-term plan is but Tim Cook, the CEO of the company has promised to reveal more information later this year which could only mean that we might get some big news at WWDC in June this year.
