OpenAI today suggested Apple could be using its trade secrets, the very thing Apple is already suing OpenAI for. In a court filing, OpenAI accused an ex-employee of giving sensitive data about an unreleased product to Apple.


The unnamed employee joined OpenAI from Apple and then returned after six months. OpenAI claims the person sent "over a hundred highly confidential files" to personal accounts, including manufacturing data and detailed images of at least one unreleased product. The former employee allegedly "made a presentation" on OpenAI product plans for Apple's senior leadership "months ago," and OpenAI is worried Apple could use that information to further its work on AI devices.

OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple, where Apple engineers can shape Apple's upcoming products based on OpenAI's confidential and innovative work. OpenAI has raised these issues directly with Apple, but to date, Apple has not provided OpenAI with the requested assurances that Apple is not in possession of, and has not used, OpenAI's trade secret and confidential information.

OpenAI asked the court for permission to investigate and pursue counterclaims if necessary. Apple told Reuters it has found no evidence to support OpenAI's claims and it has policies in place to ensure new employees do not use confidential information from previous employers.

Apple and OpenAI have been involved in a tense legal battle since Apple sued OpenAI in July. Apple says OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan stole trade secrets from Apple to develop new AI hardware. OpenAI called the lawsuit "careless, aggressive and oddly personal," stating that it does not "have, nor want, any of their trade secrets" because it is "much more interested in building innovative products and technologies that push the frontier."

Yesterday, the court partially granted Apple's request for expedited discovery. OpenAI has up to two weeks to hand over forensic evidence as well as materials used when interviewing former Apple employees. Liu, Tan, and Alyssa Peng, Liu's former Apple colleague, will need to sit for depositions after Apple gets the requested information.

Judge Edward Davila, who is overseeing the case, said during a hearing today that he is "highly likely" to grant a preliminary injunction prohibiting OpenAI from using Apple's allegedly stolen trade secrets. Bloomberg says an injunction would "mark a potential setback" for OpenAI's hardware development efforts.
This article, "OpenAI Says Ex-Employee Showed Its Device Plans to Apple" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Update – 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time: CNET has corrected its article and now says only the HomePod mini 2 will support Siri AI. Original article follows.

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Siri AI will apparently not be limited to the new HomePod mini 2, with support also coming to the first-generation HomePod mini in a software update later this year, according to a report today from CNET's Jeff Carlson.


"The HomePod Mini 2 also gets a faster S10 processor, which should help with processing Siri AI requests," he said. "However, the current S5-powered HomePod Mini will also get Siri AI compatibility later this year, along with updates to iOS 27.2."

Fine print on Apple's website does not mention this detail, at least as far as we have seen, so we have reached out to the company for comment.

For the Apple TV 4K, Apple's fine print did mention that Siri AI support will extend back to the second-generation Apple TV 4K from 2021, but we have not found any explicit fine print mention about Siri AI coming to the HomePod mini (1st generation).

Apple said setting up Siri AI on the HomePod mini 2 will require a paired iPhone or iPad model with Apple Intelligence support.

A paired device iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence support is also required for any requests involving a user's personal context, according to Apple. However, once Siri AI is enabled on the HomePod mini, the company said that even users without an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad can access Siri AI's broad world knowledge, richer and more natural conversations, and improved music discovery.

HomePod mini 2 launches on Friday, October 30, with pre-orders underway. It has an S10 chip, up from the S5 chip in the previous model.
This article, "No, HomePod Mini 1 Won't Support Siri AI as CNET Reported" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today introduced the HomePod mini 2, but the full-sized HomePod was not updated. Nevertheless, the alt text for Apple's full-sized HomePod image shown at the bottom of the HomePod order page now mentions a "multi-colored Siri AI glow on top," suggesting that the larger HomePod might eventually gain support for Siri AI.


Of course, it is also possible that Apple simply made an error.

The new HomePod mini 2 will feature Siri AI, but not right away, with support set to arrive in a "future software update." Apple did not provide a timeframe for the update. Siri AI on the HomePod mini 2 will require a paired iPhone or iPad model that supports Apple Intelligence for requests that involve a user's personal context.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple planned to update the full-sized HomePod "eventually." Siri AI support might end up being limited to a new model of the speaker, but Apple's plans are unknown at this time.
This article, "Will the Full-Sized HomePod Get Siri AI? Apple's Website Offers a Clue" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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