Is Apple Intelligence Merely a Conceptual “Vaporware”?

In recent times, Apple’s been under the microscope. While the buzz around the budget-friendly iPhone 16e briefly shifted fan attention away from AI matters, the delay of their Apple Intelligence project has stirred up major concerns among both investors and users, leaving many puzzled over Apple’s approach to artificial intelligence.

The landscape of generative AI is undeniably unpredictable, especially with new, affordable models from Chinese startups like Manus and DeepSeek making waves. These startups are rolling out sophisticated capabilities that reportedly surpass those offered by OpenAI’s proprietary models, particularly in areas like math, science, and coding.

Apple has long adhered to CEO Tim Cook’s philosophy of “not first, but best,” but this strategy seems to be faltering. As OpenAI and Microsoft gain momentum in the AI space, Apple’s hesitance to release its next big thing is starting to raise eyebrows.

According to reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple Intelligence may be trailing behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT by as much as two years. Recently, when Apple announced the delay of their Apple Intelligence and the much-anticipated revamped Siri AI assistant to 2026 without any explanation, it left many wondering about the company’s direction. Longtime Apple analyst John Gruber offered a candid perspective, suggesting that the company’s AI strategy is in a precarious state.

Gruber paints a picture of Apple entangled in its own narrative that could backfire if it fails to meet the expectations set during its WWDC 2024 presentations. He expressed disappointment, saying, “In the two decades I’ve been covering tech, I’ve never been more frustrated with myself for missing a story than with Apple’s announcement on Friday regarding the delay of Apple Intelligence’s ‘more personalized Siri’ features. I should’ve seen this coming.”

He went on to say that the AI dream Apple tried to promote during its annual developer conference was misleading. “I’m embarrassed and regret not realizing the truth from the beginning,” Gruber admitted.

This situation seems to be a classic case of overpromising and underdelivering. Gruber believes that Apple only managed to offer “trivial features” like Writing Tools and Image Playground, without delivering anything substantial as they had promised at WWDC. The revamped Siri AI assistant was particularly promising, yet Gruber dismisses these next-gen AI tools as mere vaporware, describing them as nothing more than a concept video.

Gruber criticized how during the WWDC keynote, features of the so-called personalized Siri were showcased in a segment suggesting they’d be available soon. But rather than performing live demonstrations, Apple relied on concept videos. “Apple was either unwilling or unable to show these features in action back in June, even when demonstrations were tightly controlled and scripted,” he remarked.

He argues that if these features genuinely existed in any working form, Apple should have been able to demonstrate them, showing both progress and areas needing improvement. It didn’t happen. As Gruber noted, “If these features truly existed, those outside of Apple would have attested to their existence by now. It seems more like Apple presented a tale that wasn’t accurate, presumably known by some within the company.”

Gruber wraps up by saying that while it’s common for some AI companies to misrepresent their progress, he didn’t expect Apple to fall into that category, considering this practice as “BS.” This revelation leaves many in the tech community pondering where Apple will go from here in its AI journey.