Apple's AI Ambitions: Challenges and Delays in Apple Intelligence Implementation

Apple Intelligence -- everything you need to know about Apple's AI

All the Apple Intelligence features you can try on your iPhone, iPad and Mac Apple Intelligence represents Apple's leap into AI, integrating Apple's AI features across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Announced at WWDC 2024, this AI-driven initiative aims to enhance the user experience by providing on-device intelligence, advanced automation and seamless integration with Apple's ecosystem. Unlike other AI models that rely primarily on cloud processing, Apple has put privacy first before all else in the AI race. For that reason, Apple Intelligence focuses on leveraging on-device processing while using Apple's secure cloud infrastructure when necessary. This approach allows users to benefit from advancements of AI without compromising data privacy. Apple Intelligence is still very much in its infancy, but it's already starting to change how users interact with their Apple devices, enhancing everything from Siri to image generation and personalized task automation. With the release of iOS 18.4, Apple continues to enhance its suite of AI-driven features under the Apple Intelligence initiative, aiming to provide users with more intuitive and efficient experiences across their Apple devices. A standout feature since the launch, Writing Tools assists users in refining their text by checking spelling and grammar, or completely rewriting sections in different tones, and summarizing highlighted content. ChatGPT also works seamlessly within Writing Tools and is accessible wherever text input is available from email and messages to notes. Photo Cleanup: Easily edit photos by identifying and removing unwanted objects or individuals within a feature that is similar to Google's Magic Eraser. This tool gives users the chance to alter images directly within the Photos app, maintaining the aesthetic quality of their photo collections. Natural Language Search in Photos: This feature gives users the ability to find the images they are looking for by describing something about it. Be it a color, time of year, or subject within the photo, users can search photos with a quick prompt and locate specific images. Notification summaries: To manage the influx of notifications, Apple Intelligence introduced Notification Summaries. The functionality was designed to help users get a brief idea of what the notice is about to reduce distrations from less important alerts. Message summaries: For lengthy emails or texts, Apple Intelligence can generate summaries, allowing users to grasp the main points without reading the entire message. Reduce Interruptions Focus: In an effort to help users maintain concentration, this feature helps to prioritize notifications, permitting only important alerts to come through. Summarized audio recordings: iOS 18.4 introduces the ability to record and transcribe phone calls (when using Apple's phone app) and summarize the content of these conversations. This feature extends to recordings made in the Notes app. Smart Reply: This feature offers AI-generated responses in emails and messages, adapting suggestions based on the content of the received message. Siri enhancements: Siri has received significant updates since Apple Intelligence, and more upgrades have been made in iOS 18.4, including a more conversational tone and improved understanding of user queries. Unfortunately, an even more improved Siri may not arrive with iOS 18.5 later this spring, it appears we may not see Siri 2.0 until later this year, possibly not until 2026. "It's going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year," Apple spokesperson Jaqueline Roy reportedly told Daring Fireball. The delayed Siri upgrades include personal context, on-screen awareness, and in-app actions across a ton of mostly Apple apps. ChatGPT integration: Through a partnership with OpenAI, iOS 18.4 integrates ChatGPT into Siri, allowing users to engage with the chatbot using voice commands. This integration expands Siri's capabilities, providing access to a broader range of information and functionalities. Apple Intelligence now aids in identifying time-sensitive emails and messages, pushing them to the top of the inbox with Priority Messages. Users have the choice of keeping the old mail experience of "List Mode" or chose to categorize their emails with "Categories" such as Priority, Transactions, Promptions, and Updates. This prioritization ensures that users can address urgent communications promptly without sifting through less critical content. Visual Intelligence functions similarly to Google Lens, enabling users to analyze the world around them through the camera. Accessible via the Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 series, this feature allows for real-time translation, web searches, and more, enhancing the device's interactive capabilities. Visual Intelligence is also available via the Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16e. Apple Intelligence's Image Playground makes it easy for users to generate images in customized styles such as sketch or cartoon. With a simple text prompt, Apple AI generates images based on the users request. The AI takes image generation even further by letting users transform hand-drawn sketches into detailed images within the Notes app using the Image Wand. Genmoji, introduced in iMessages, gives users the creative freedom to create emojis that don't yet exist. With a simple text prompt, customized emojis are generated and then used within texts and iMessages to add a more personalized touch. Apple Intelligence requires high-performance Apple Silicon chips, meaning it won't be available on older devices. The following devices are suitable for Apple Intelligence: Since Apple Intelligence relies on Apple Silicon chips, older iPhones and Intel-based Macs will not support these features. Apple's approach to AI sets it apart from competitors like Google and Microsoft by emphasizing privacy, on-device intelligence (user information is not stored), and seamless ecosystem integration. As Apple continues to refine its AI models, we can expect to see several features in the future, beyond the anticipated Siri updates. Expanded language support: Initially launching in English, we are sure to see language support expanding globally. More third-party app integrations: Developers may gain tools to integrate Apple Intelligence into their apps. Advancements in multimodal AI: Future updates could bring video generation, deeper AR/VR integration, and real-time collaboration tools. AI-Powered productivity features: Apple Intelligence is expected to enhance productivity apps like Notes, Calendar, and Reminders with more automation. We may even see something like what Gmail recently launched with Google Calendar. Although Apple may be slower with AI advancement compared to other tech giants, they continue to place privacy first, which should help users gain trust in and feel comfortable with AI. Apple Intelligence is one of the most significant AI updates in Apple's history, combining cutting-edge AI with Apple's signature privacy and user-first approach. With a focus on on-device intelligence, a smarter Siri, powerful writing tools, and creative AI features, Apple is setting the stage for the future of AI-powered experiences across iPhones, iPads, and Macs. As AI becomes an essential part of everyday tech, Apple Intelligence is poised to redefine how users interact with their devices -- securely, seamlessly, and intelligently.

iOS 19 risks turning Apple Intelligence into the new Siri -- and that's not good

iOS 18 was quite a big deal when it first launched last fall. While a lot of what Apple announced when it previewed the software update wouldn't arrive on Day One -- and some of those features are still missing in action today -- iOS 18 was still a leap forward for Apple. And that's even if you subscribe to the opinion that a lot of the AI features included in the update were Apple's attempt to catch up to its rivals. We're starting to hear the first rumors about iOS 19, and from the sound of things, Apple is expecting to make a big splash for the second year in a row. Only, this time, it looks like the company will redesign iOS (and its other operating systems for the iPad and Mac) to make the entire Apple ecosystem look more alike. That's great: iOS has had the same appearance for a while, and it could be the right time for a fresh new look. But further rumors that Apple Intelligence isn't getting any meaningful updates with iOS 19 have me worried about Apple's priorities. Since Apple's inception, design has been one of the things the company prides itself on. It doesn't matter whether we're talking hardware or software, mobile or desktop -- Apple wants its stuff to look and feel good. Things always haven't played out that way, like the infamous Butterfly keyboards or whatever the Newton was supposed to be. But as a whole, Apple has done a good job at making products that are stylish and desirable. But you can't always keep things looking the same forever. Just ask the fashion industry. Eventually you get to the point where you need to overhaul everything and adopt a fresh new look. Rumor has it that Apple will do this with iOS 19, and other Apple operating systems, to make all the different corners of the Apple ecosystem look more alike. More specifically, Apple reportedly will take inspiration from visionOS, the software powering the Apple Vision Pro headset. So we may see iOS go a little circular. According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, those changes are likely affect "icons, menus, apps, windows and system buttons". In fact, Gurman claims that this will be "one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company's history". If you remember 2013's switch from the original "skeuomorphic" design of early iPhones to the current look, it was no small feat. iOS 7 was controversial because of the amount of stuff it changed, and while we may be used to that look by now, a lot of people weren't happy about it at the time. So to say the rumored iOS 19 redesign will be even bigger than that suggests that we're in for something explosive. Which is probably fitting, considering it's been almost 12 years since we've seen meaningful changes to iOS. While software rumors aren't always as common as hardware rumors, even when Apple is involved, it's a little concerning we haven't heard much else about what iOS 19 will involve. That lack of detail is especially worrisome now that Mark Gurman has written that Apple "will not include any significant consumer-facing changes to Apple Intelligence" as part of the iOS 19 update. Granted, Apple is still holding back on Apple Intelligence. The much-anticipated updates to Siri's capabilities are still incoming. Last year at WWDC 2024, Apple announced that Siri would be getting more personalized touches, acting more like a true AI than the flagging voice assistant. These changes included natural language responses, the ability to understand personal context, an awareness of what's on your screen at any given moment and the ability to perform in-app actions across your device. Those are all things that were expected to arrive in iOS 18.4, but have since been delayed to an indefinite point in time. While it's not been confirmed, I would expect those features to arrive at some point during the iOS 19 lifecycle, which is anytime before September 2026. And that's not ideal, considering how much of a big deal Apple made about the features last June. The fact is, as much as a brand new design is going to shake up iOS 19, it can't be the only thing Apple has to offer this year. Even if Apple only offers basic quality-of-life updates -- similar to the approach Google took with Android 15 -- it would be better than nothing. Without those updates, iOS 19 risks falling into the same pitfalls as iOS 7 did. And the problem gets worse if Apple Intelligence really falls by the wayside, as the above rumors seem to be suggesting. If you look at what Google has done with Android over the past several years, you'll notice that AI has always had some role in the conversation. For as long as I've been watching Google I/O keynotes, there has been talk of artificial intelligence and machine learning improving various aspects of the software. Naturally that exploded a few years back with the launch of Google Gemini. Google's chatbot and the various other AI models it has in development now have a more active role in the I/O presentation. It's arguably one of the biggest parts of the talk, with Google showcasing just how much work it's done with AI in the 12 months since the last conference. It is fair to say that Apple was late to the party with Apple Intelligence, and there was a lot of catching up to do when those first AI features were announced at WWDC 2024. With that in mind, it's important for Apple that it keeps up the momentum and doesn't let Apple Intelligence become an afterthought. After all, that's exactly what happened to Siri. Back when it was released, the voice assistant seemed revolutionary. Then Apple spent the next 13 years more or less ignoring Siri and its potential. Siri stood in place, as the likes of Google and Alexa surpassed its abilities -- especially in the AI era. While Apple's first priority is to actually fulfill the many Apple Intelligence promises it made last year, it still has to think about the future of Apple Intelligence. More needs to be done to add to Apple's AI suite in the future, even if that only involves small doses. Plus, considering how quickly AI development has progressed in the two-plus years since the launch of ChatGPT, Apple can't afford to take even a year off. The less it does on the AI front, the more it cedes to competitors like Google and OpenAI. Considering how relatively late Apple was in launching its own AI efforts, and how important the technology is proving to be, the company can't let the new interface of iOS 19 be an excuse to ignore Apple Intelligence.

Apple rushed Apple Intelligence and now the company is stuck playing catch up

Could Apple have done things differently? Or is Apple Intelligence doomed to fail? Apple Intelligence, as a project, still feels poorly defined and a little nebulous - even as we approach the anniversary of its reveal in June. It's a bundle of features, some good, and some fairly pointless, and it's clearer than ever that Apple, a company that's long come to technologies later than rivals but with an extra panache that's almost unmatched in the industry, is playing catch-up. Ask a more casual iPhone user what Apple Intelligence is or does, and there's a good chance they'll struggle to give you an answer, despite those two words being bandied around on advertisements since before you could even run it. And, with a hefty delay, that could be a sign of things to come. In fact, I asked a bunch of people around me. Their only response was the comically incorrect notification summaries - either because they turned them off or left them on for comedic purposes. For the first time that I can remember, Apple seems... lost. Unsure on how best to press forward but with the tech world simultaneously streaking ahead while also feeling Wall Street breathing down its neck. Could the company have done something differently? AI is a tech buzzword the same way 'Crypto' was a few years ago, but it's gone beyond that in that every tech product feels like it needs to mention those two letters in some way. It's clear that pressure got to Apple, one of the largest tech companies in the world, which feels relatively unprecedented. As Apple's Craig Federighi pointed out at WWDC 2024 in the video above, Apple has been making AI-powered computers for years, but it had been calling it 'Machine Learning'. Those neural engines have been around for years, while Siri, Apple's (mostly useless) voice assistant debuted back in 2011. By all rights, Apple could have started the AI 'arms race' if it had wanted to years ago. And yet, the likes of OpenAI and Google have not only breezed past Apple but lapped them. I don't use ChatGPT all that often, but it runs rings around Siri to the point where Apple plugged it into its latest OS updates. If that's not an admission of a fumble, I don't know what is. Apple certainly felt confident in Apple Intelligence when WWDC took place. The company spent a huge amount of time extolling the virtues of it, and I don't doubt some are having plenty of fun creating Genmoji - but one glance at the competition tells you that won't cut it anymore, and the company may not have the luxury of time to catch-up. Apple is reportedly lagging behind its internal targets according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When Apple unveiled an AI-infused version of Siri last June, the system looked great in computer-generated video," Gurman said in his Power On Newsletter. "The new Siri could tap into your personal data to better answer questions, analyze what was on your screen, and more precisely control features and apps. In reality, though, the company barely had a functional prototype. And Apple engineers will need to move mountains to get it finished by May as planned." In fact, Apple has officially delayed the arrival of the Apple Intelligence-powered Siri, stating it's coming "with a future software update." That means coming into WWDC 2025, Apple may not have rolled out everything it promised at WWDC 2024, while other features feel underbaked (why can't I ask ChatGPT something via Siri on a Mac and have it stay on screen, rather than the question and answer vanishing as soon as I click elsewhere?). Gurman has suggested that Apple's AI vision of a conversational Siri might not reach users until 2027 with iOS 20. In some ways, we've seen this before with Apple and gaming (hear me out). Macs can run games, but consumers have always known that they'll get more games and a better experience out of a Windows machine or a dedicated console. Sure, Apple can show how its latest MacBooks now run Cyberpunk 2077 almost half a decade after it first launched, but it's so far behind that Apple has seemingly lost interest in competing. The same now feels true of Apple's AI push - the company has given it a go, but you'll get more AI functionality from rivals. The difference is that AI is seen as the future of computing, whereas gaming has always been a niche Apple hasn't necessarily wanted to invest as heavily in. The next couple of years will be fascinating to watch unfold. Apple's transition to its own silicon put the spotlight back on the Mac (pun intended), but now it feels as though it needs to, as Gurman says, "move mountains" to keep it there.