Apple sneaks a Windows Recall-like feature onto the iPhone [Video]

Microsoft’s Recall sparked outrage that Microsoft was spying on users. But will Apple’s “semantic search” produce the same headlines?

Apple introduced the new feature at its “Glowtime” event on Monday, where the company launched the iPhone 16, plus new versions of the Apple Watch and its AirPod earbuds.

“If you need to quickly find an important detail, but can’t remember where it was shared, Siri will use your personal semantic index to quickly locate the information you’re looking for,” Greg Jozwiak, Apple’s senior vice-president of worldwide marketing, said during the brief segment on Apple Intelligence that accompanied the iPhone 16 Pro. (See the image at the top of this page for more.)

That was all Apple said on the subject. But the new feature seems to promise to do the same thing that Microsoft’s own Recall could do: track down a detail somewhere in your digital forest of apps.

Apple’s Jozwiak didn’t say how the semantic …