Apple wants to use AI to turbo-charge your iPhone's battery life

Apple wants to use artificial intelligence (AI) to turbo-charge the battery life of your iPhone.

In an interview with The Nikkei Asian Review published Monday, CEO Tim Cook said that the company is looking at integrating AI technology across its products to improve them. While the tech is most commonly associated with chatbots like Apple's Siri or Google's Assistant, it can be used "in ways that most people don't even think about," Cook said.

A key example he gave was making your devices last longer in between charges: "We want the AI to increase your battery life."

Earlier this year, Google announced it had integrated AI into its power-hungry data centres - and it managed to produce savings of up to 40% by automatically figuring out the most efficient way to run things.

Apple (and others) could try and achieve similar gains in smartphones and other commercial devices by using AI to optimise battery life and reduce power consumption.

Battery life is a constant pain for just about every smartphone on the market. The iPhone lasts around a day, and even the most energy efficient consumer devices only last 2 or 3 - far less than dumbphones from before the smartphone era, that could last a week or so on a single day.

The race for ever-thinner and more-powerful devices means that any gains in energy efficiency or battery tech from year to year typically just result in more features being crammed into a device, rather than meaningful improvements in battery life.

As such, any improvements - whether from AI, or anywhere else - will be sure to be welcomed by consumers.