Apple recently introduced a new feature at its ‘Glowtime’ event that has drawn comparisons to Microsoft’s Recall. While Microsoft’s feature sparked outrage over concerns of user surveillance, Apple’s ‘semantic search’ is expected to fly under the radar.
According to Greg Jozwiak, Apple’s senior vice-president of worldwide marketing, semantic search allows Siri to quickly locate information using a user’s personal semantic index. This feature seems to promise the same functionality as Microsoft’s Recall, which tracks down details in a user’s digital forest of apps.
Apple has not revealed much about how the semantic search works or which apps it will be restricted to. However, the company has emphasized that any information it captures is stored on the device, not in Apple’s cloud. This is similar to Microsoft’s approach, but the latter has garnered more mistrust from users.
Apple’s continued emphasis on securely storing consumer information on-device has built up a level of trust with consumers that Microsoft has failed to establish. This trust is likely to make Apple’s semantic search more palatable to users than Microsoft’s Recall.
While Apple’s semantic search may raise some eyebrows, it is unlikely to spark the same outrage as Microsoft’s Recall. The company’s commitment to user security and trust has paid off, and users are likely to give Apple the benefit of the doubt.
Key differences between Apple’s semantic search and Microsoft’s Recall include:
• Storage: Both features store data on-device, but Apple’s emphasis on security has built up more trust with consumers.
• Rollout: Apple has not revealed much about its rollout plan, while Microsoft has said that its Recall feature will be slowly rolled out and tested starting in October.
• Perception: Apple’s feature is expected to fly under the radar, while Microsoft’s Recall has been met with suspicion and mistrust.
Apple has recently introduced a new feature in its iPhone 16, which allows Siri to use a personal semantic index to quickly locate important information. This feature seems to be similar to Microsoft’s Recall, which sparked outrage among users due to concerns about data privacy.
However, it seems that Apple’s emphasis on storing consumer information on-device rather than in the cloud has helped build trust among its users. This is in contrast to Microsoft, which has struggled to establish the same level of trust despite its efforts to secure user data on the device.
The key questions surrounding Apple’s semantic search feature are how it will work, which apps it will be restricted to, and how far back the search can be conducted. The feature’s potential to track down information in a user’s digital forest of apps is undeniable, but it remains to be seen whether it will be met with the same skepticism as Microsoft’s Recall.