Why ChatGPT-5 is kind of a big deal for Apple fans

The latest version of ChatGPT, GPT‑5, was released earlier this month, promising “a significant leap in intelligence over all our previous models.” GPT-5 has already been activated as the standard model for free ChatGPT users; you only have to pay if you need more capacity/usage or the Pro version with “extended reasoning.”

This all sounds great. But can it live up to the hype? And why should Mac users, and Apple fans in general, care about ChatGPT-5? Allow us to explain.

Another step towards super intelligence?

Let’s start by drilling down into what exactly OpenAI means by a leap in intelligence. For one thing, the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, is convinced that the new version has taken a big step towards “artificial general intelligence” (or AGI), which refers to the theoretical capacity of a single AI to match or surpass a human across all or almost all cognitive tasks. That’s an eye-catching claim to begin with.

In the main, of course, ChatGPT will continue to be used for a narrow set of duties. On that front we’re promised that the AI will be able to decide independently which language model should be used for a particular task, and assess whether it could be accomplished more quickly or more thoroughly if approached in a different way (for example, with or without the use of the reasoning model). Perhaps most importantly, agentic capabilities will enable ChatGPT to actively perform multi-stage actions, such as generating web apps or planning and executing complex work processes.

Accuracy should be improved, too. The new version is expected to generate significantly fewer “hallucinations,” that dangerous category of error specific to AI where the software simply makes something up and presents it as fact.

Integration with Apple devices already in sight

So much for the broad improvements in GPT-5. But for Apple fans, the key issue is when we can expect the new model to be integrated with macOS and iOS. And the answer, happily, is soon.

It’s currently possible, if you have a device running Apple Intelligence, to bring in ChatGPT for assistance if the device cannot solve a task using its own capabilities. As 9to5Mac explains, ChatGPT is already integrated for the following areas. If you’ve turned on this optional feature, the device will ask you if it should turn to ChatGPT for help.

• Siri: ChatGPT can provide helpful answers for certain queries, including questions about photos and documents.
• Writing Tools: ChatGPT can respond to a prompt by generating relevant text or images.
• Visual Intelligence: ChatGPT can help you quickly learn more about the places and objects in your environment.

But this is all based on ChatGPT-4o, the previous version. GPT-5 will take its place as of the launch of iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26, according to Apple itself. Those software updates are expected next month, so there isn’t long to wait for the improvements listed above to land on an Apple device near you.

In certain respects Apple users may get a better experience from GPT-5 than others. For one thing, if you access ChatGPT via Apple Intelligence, you enjoy Apple’s data protection measures, including the obfuscation of IP addresses and a guarantee that queries won’t be saved, rather than OpenAI’s less privacy-focused policies. However, note that if you connect your OpenAI account to Apple Intelligence, OpenAI’s policy will apply.

Based on the maker’s claims, ChatGPT performance on Apple devices should improve significantly with the launch of version 5–but as ever, real-world testing will provide the truth. It will be exciting to see how GPT-5 gets on once full integration takes place next month.