Apple has rarely been a pioneer – the company was also late to the game when it came to AI. Instead of improving existing technology, it is now at risk of falling behind. Can Tim Cook still turn things around?
“We were rarely the first,” said Cook according to Bloomberg. But: Apple has always delivered more modern versions – including with AI, he believes. But the delayed entry is slowing things down – for now.
iPhone 16: Built for AI, but launched too late 📱⏳
At WWDC 2024, Apple presented “Apple Intelligence” – with a focus on data protection 🔐: processed locally, anonymised, even for ChatGPT requests. However, many functions such as emoji creation or text summaries were not new. Siri was supposed to become more intelligent – but the AI package was not even available at the iPhone 16 launch. Only iOS 18.1 (in the EU: 18.4) brought it to the device.
The rollout was bumpy: features had to be stopped, Siri postponed to 2026. Still in beta status today.
Siri reform: Apple draws conclusions 🛠️📣
While OpenAI, Google & Co. regularly showcase innovations, Apple remained reserved at WWDC 2025 – probably because of the Siri delay.
However, the internal reorganisation is underway: Mike Rockwell (formerly Vision Pro) is now in charge of Siri and, according to Craig Federighi, the team has been “supercharged”.
Apple is now focussing on a new architecture – unified instead of dual – for a “bigger upgrade than planned”. 💡
Apple is looking for outside help 🧠💰
Just internal is no longer enough: Apple is planning further acquisitions, according to Tim Cook. There were already talks about the AI search engine Perplexity in June 2025. The aim: less dependence on OpenAI, more in-house control – e.g. through its own “Answer Engine”.
Developers also have more options: With the new “Foundation Model Framework”, they can incorporate Apple AI directly (and offline) into their apps. Will that be enough to convince users? Doubtful. 🤔
What does the future hold? 🔮📆
In the short term, there will be smaller features: live translations in Facetime 🗣️➡️🗣️ and screen scanning with “Visual Intelligence” – practical, but nothing new.
In the long term, hopes are pinned on Siri 2026, which will finally deliver after some setbacks. Apple can hardly afford any further delays. Perhaps Tim Cook is right: later – but better. ✅
