Last month, a report revealed how much energy and water ChatGPT consumes. Then, we also discovered that being polite to AI also costs millions for companies. A simple “You’re welcome” from the agent uses up resources, too.
So, not only are these AI companies spending a lot of money, but they’re also consuming a ton of natural resources for every Studio Ghibli-like creation and other tasks users run each day.
Meanwhile, Apple claims its AI, Apple Intelligence, runs 100% on renewable energy, even when processing tasks on the cloud or third-party servers. In its latest environment report, the company explains:
Apple Intelligence was developed with the environment in mind. When a user makes a request, Apple Intelligence analyzes whether it can be processed on device. If it needs greater computational capacity, it can draw on Private Cloud Compute, our groundbreaking cloud intelligence system designed specifically for private AI processing. It will send only the data that is relevant to the task to be processed on Apple servers at our data centers, which run on 100 percent renewable energy. When requests are routed to Private Cloud Compute, data is not stored or made accessible to Apple, and is only used to fulfill the user’s request.
The company also shared information about third-party services. Apple explains: “Beyond the use of our data centers and colocation facilities, we also use third-party services to support some of our on-demand cloud computing and storage services. As of 2023, all the electricity associated with Apple’s load at our third-party computing vendors is matched with 100 percent clean energy.”
Apple is also following its 2030 carbon-neutral goal, which means in five years, everything the company produces will be eco-friendly.
First, Apple’s AI needs to work
While Apple seems a step ahead of its rivals by running its AI on renewable energy, users still expect Apple Intelligence to be more useful. Even though Apple won’t admit it, a big part of making Apple Intelligence worthwhile depends on Siri’s conversational capabilities.
After all, even if the company keeps improving Image Playground, Genmoji, or leans on ChatGPT for more complex tasks, its personal assistant still struggles with the basics. Recently, users were complaining that Siri was explaining how to set a timer on the iPhone instead of just setting it. Bananas.
These little issues are a big reason Apple needs to catch up with OpenAI and others. Even though iOS 26 suggests the company is slowly offering more perks, such as the ability to create a chatbot-like AI with the Shortcuts app, this can’t be a hidden feature.
How Apple is improving Apple Intelligence with iOS 26
Once iOS 26 is available (via public beta or official release), people will be able to try these new AI features, which all run on renewable energy:
- Live Translation: On Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, users can communicate across languages with text and audio translations.
- Visual Intelligence: Similar to Circle to Search, this feature lets you screenshot an image and ask for info about objects like lamps or jackets.
- Shortcut improvements: AI now powers the Shortcuts app, unlocking more possibilities within it.
- ChatGPT integration: Users can ask ChatGPT about what they’re seeing onscreen. It’s also easier to search on Google, Etsy, and other supported apps through the built-in ChatGPT experience.
Check out more details about iOS 26’s Apple Intelligence features.
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