Galaxy AI has shown how Apple is losing the AI smartphone race to Samsung, but the fruit company is obviously not going to go down without a fight. Artificial intelligence-based features will be a major draw for smartphones in 2024, as Samsung has already demonstrated with the new Galaxy S24 lineup unveiled last week.
Apple's iPhones aren't touting as many AI features right now but that could change later this year when the iPhone 16 is ultimately unveiled. Till that happens, the company is filling in the gaps with new features that give its users a taste of what's to come.
Podcasts app now provides automatic transcriptions
Apple has announced that its standalone Podcasts app will now be able to intelligently generate transcripts for podcasts on its own. This feature is included in the upcoming iOS 17.4 update. Transcripts will initially be available for English, German, French, and Spanish-language podcasts.
The automatic transcripts will be available shortly after the podcasts are uplaoded and will be viewable to users in over 170 countries and regions. Apple has also said that users will be able to search for specific words and phrases in the transcripts as well as read along with the episode. Each word will be highlighted as it's said aloud.
Even though the Podcasts app can now automatically generate transcripts, Apple says that podcasters are still going to be able to provide their own transcripts should they so desire. They also have the option to download and edit one of the automatically generated transcripts by the app and re-upload them.
With AI being such a major focus for smartphone makers in 2024, it's no surprise that Apple will be gradually giving it more of a prominent role on its devices and apps as well. The bulk of its AI functionality may not be unveiled until the second half of this year, though, giving Galaxy AI plenty of time to capture the hearts and minds of users everywhere.
