Apple has recently acquired the iWork.ai domain, according to reports by BuyAiDomains.com, fueling speculations that the tech giant may be gearing up to inject artificial intelligence into its office software.
Apple typically refers to its individual applications – Pages, Keynote and Numbers – but they were collectively bundled under the iWork brand until around 2009.
Whether or not Apple intends to revive the iWork branding or add any artificial intelligence features into its applications remains nothing more than speculation for now, but the domain purchase is certainly an interesting one, nonetheless.
Will Apple add AI to Pages, Keynote, Numbers?
Apple has not revealed any immediate plans to turbocharge its apps with artificial intelligence just yet, but the fact that key rivals Microsoft and Google have already done so puts the Cupertino company several paces behind its competition.
The timing of the domain’s sale is certainly intriguing, because CEO Tim Cook said in the company’s most recent earnings call that Apple plans to bring generative AI to customers “later this year,” presumably with the launch of iOS 18 and macOS 15. Reports of an upgraded Siri have circulated the internet in recent weeks.
However, Apple owns hundreds (if not thousands, by now) of domains, making its acquisition of yet another fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. If an imminent relaunch was on the cards, we’d expect Apple to have snapped up even more .ai domains that relate to its products and services.
More generally, rumors are heating up as we approach the company’s annual developer conference, WWDC 2024, where the industry will look on as the world’s first three-billion-dollar company (which has very recently been overtaken by Microsoft) could reveal some major AI changes to its products.
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