WhatsApp takes the lead in AI while Google and Apple hold back on devices

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, is rolling out innovative AI features in its beta versions for Android, potentially ahead of broader releases of similar tools by tech giants Google and Apple. This is evidence that cloud-based AI features will continue to dominate the broader consumer market due to their larger install base.

Meta is making the most of its GPU investment by rapidly expanding its AI offering on WhatsApp.

Meta is making the most of its GPU investment as it rapidly expands its AI offering on WhatsApp.

You have to admit Mark Zuckerberg was right. When he said Edge in January, when it had amassed an arsenal of more than 340,000 Nvidia H100 graphics processors, it got serious about building artificial intelligence solutions.

We’ve come to the view that to build the products we want to build, we need to build for general intelligence. I think it’s important to get that across because a lot of the best researchers want to work on more challenging problems

Meta's latest LLM Llama 3 release targets OpenAI's Gemini Advanced and GPT-4 systems

Six months on, Meta AI is now built into every service the company offers, and is even being widely used by 12-year-olds in South Africa to help with homework – if my daughter is to be believed, she swears she doesn’t use it.

WhatsApp Beta Release Information Recent beta updates for WhatsApp for Android (2.24.14.7 and 2.24.14.13) revealed that the app is testing features that will allow users to choose between different Meta AI Llama models with varying degrees of message complexity, and even generate AI images of themselves based on a set of photos.

Before Apple Intelligence

This last feature puts an emphasis on user privacy, as they can delete their setup photos at any time and Meta AI cannot read other messages.

This is very similar to the features Apple touted at WWDC a month ago and which form the core of the upcoming Apple Intelligence solution.

Following these announcements, Apple visited all the major AI players and even stopped by Meta to talk about the future of integrating its tools with Apple devices, as reported by WSJ.

In the same WWDC announcement, Apple briefly mentioned the compatibility of its proprietary iMessage protocol with RCS messages.

Google has been actively promoting widespread adoption of the technology, and the EU Digital Markets Act has played a major role in forcing major technology vendors – including WhatsApp – to adapt.

Further improvements in WhatsApp for Android beta versions 2.24.9.30 and 2.24.14.14 focus on improving the video note-taking feature.

The new Video Annotation mode in the camera interface streamlines the recording and sharing process, addressing previous user concerns and offering a more intuitive experience.

Beyond Artificial Intelligence

WhatsApp is also beefing up its core calling features. Upcoming updates will enable screen sharing with audio, expand video calling capacity to 32 participants across devices, and introduce Speaker Spotlight.

The company also highlights recent improvements in sound and video quality that will make calls clearer even in challenging network conditions.

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While these features are currently in beta testing, their presence indicates WhatsApp’s intention to remain the go-to instant messaging app in developing markets by performing most of its tasks on its own servers and not limiting these features to specific, expensive hardware.

The move could position WhatsApp as a leader in this space, ahead of Google and Apple implementing similar AI features on their platforms.