(Credit: Jeffrey Hazelwood/PCMag Composite; Apple)
I recently wrote about how Apple’s lagging AI technology might impact its device and OS market share. But as I sat at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino and listened to the WWDC keynote, I came to the opposite conclusion. Apple falling behind Google and Microsoft might not matter much after all. In fact, I question whether the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS will even meaningfully trail competitors once they fully launch in the fall.
Yes, people are suing Apple for not delivering on its AI promises with new iPhones. I think this is a spurious, very first-world problem. And the tech giant is at least trying to be more honest now: At WWDC, Apple’s senior vice president for software engineering, Craig Federighi, admitted that Apple Intelligence was not where the company wanted it to be yet.
That’s fine. Apple shouldn't release anything that doesn't have the polish and quality that its users expect. Importantly, the development, hardware, and privacy components are all still in place for Apple Intelligence to succeed. The company can still build a seamless AI experience that people genuinely want to use.
Apple Picked the Right Time to Fall Behind
Apple’s more measured development of AI coincides with a societal change in attitude about the technology. Pundits on Bluesky talk about how no one really needs to use AI, and that it’s just another money grab by tech bros and big tech. Instagram memes bemoan its excessive energy demands and water use. That’s a big shift from the initial widespread euphoria over ChatGPT, and these are all legitimate issues.
I primarily see AI as a beneficial tool for professional work (such as coding and medical research) and for handling otherwise tedious tasks. Apple seems to be taking a wholly pragmatic approach, with features such as screenshot information extraction and spam call detection. If Apple continues to make AI something people find helpful in daily interactions with their devices, then I think it can combat the shifting, more cynical views on the technology.
On-Device AI Has Its Advantages
Apple is also prioritizing on-device AI features, thus reducing the need for power-hungry data centers. AI models across the industry continue to get smaller and less resource-heavy, too, as evidenced by Deepseek, Google’s Gemma, and Microsoft's Phi. If Apple keeps applying development resources to local processing and optimization, it could win over people who otherwise consider the energy usage of AI models egregious. An efficient set of AI tools that arrives eventually is better than a rushed one that sucks up energy.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)AI Development Is Fast, Market Share Changes Might Not Be
At its I/O conference, Google announced features for Gemini that resemble those Apple did for Apple Intelligence in 2024. It said, for example, that Gemini could use information in your calendar, contacts, and email to take various actions, in combination with public data about traffic conditions and the like. Copilot+ PCs can perform actions for you via the Click to Do feature, but not to the personalized extent as with Google's Gemini.
Both Copilot and Gemini can generate images and suggest writing improvements using local processing, but Apple has already delivered on those parts of its AI promises, so it’s not really behind there. These are the kinds of features with which Apple can bring around naysayers.
Apple currently lets you tap into ChatGPT for more advanced generative capabilities, and at WWDC, the company announced that you would soon be able to use the chatbot for advanced image generation within Image Playground. This means you will be able to get more compelling visuals than the cartoon-like art it heretofore offered; think oil-painting-style or photorealistic images. However, you will need to connect to ChatGPT’s servers to do so.
As for Apple losing market share, dramatic changes are usually pretty slow. MacOS still takes a consistent and significant percentage away from Windows in the desktop OS market, and iOS still beats Android. Could things start to change if people don't buy into Apple's AI strategy? Certainly. Are Apple users likely to jump ship to Android and Windows over AI features? Maybe, but probably not.
Apple can't be stagnant forever, but practical and socially positive AI features can help it stay ahead of any negative trends that emerge.
Apple Shouldn't Change Its Thoughtful AI Approach
What’s the upshot of all this? It’s just fine for Apple not to debut drastic AI features for a while (or maybe ever). If the best form of AI ends up being one that works seamlessly in the background, then Apple should just continue to introduce features only where it sees an actual need for them.
In the meantime, users can acclimate to the new Liquid Glass interface that extends across platforms. Although I didn't find the OSes in particular need of a design update, I can appreciate the improvements. It’s what people interact with all day, after all—at least until AI takes things over for good.