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Google is once again going for the jugular in an ad that takes a subtle dig at Apple Intelligence.
In its latest spot for the upcoming Pixel 10, Google seemingly references Apple's failed promises on AI. The delays, particularly on a revamped version of Siri, have been the subject of multiple class-action lawsuits and ongoing executive churn in Cupertino.
"If you buy a new phone for a feature that's coming soon, but it's been coming soon for a full year, you could change your definition of 'soon'—or you could just change your phone," a voiceover in the Google ad says.
The ad, dubbed Soon, ends with "8.20.25," or the date Google plans to announce the Pixel 10.
Another Easter egg in the ad: the music. Apple owns Beats—aka Beats by Dr. Dre—and the song in the ad is the instrumental version of Dre's song "The Next Episode."
This is not the first time Google has mocked Apple publicly. In 2023, it made fun of Cupertino for being late to the game on USB-C for smartphones ahead of the Pixel 8 Pro launch. It also nagged Apple for years over its lack of support for RCS, releasing an "iPager" video comparing iPhones to pagers from the 90s. (RCS eventually arrived with iOS 18 last year.)
Samsung has also gotten in the action. More than a decade ago, it mocked the iPhone 6 Plus "Bendgate" troubles in a Galaxy Note 4 ad. More recently, it took Apple to task over its controversial iPad "Crush" ad, declaring: "Creativity cannot be crushed."
Like Google, Samsung is a step ahead of Apple on AI. The latest Samsung foldables have an AI agent, powered by Google Gemini. It knows what you're typing and can see if you share your screen, so you can collaborate with it on daily tasks. It can also chat about what you're seeing in your phone's camera to do things like add an event from a paper invitation to your calendar.
This "context-aware" AI is something Apple first teased during the Apple Intelligence debut at its 2024 Worldwide Developer Conference. A year later, it still hasn't arrived.
"With onscreen awareness, Siri will be able to understand and take action with users’ content in more apps over time," Apple said at the time. "For example, if a friend texts a user their new address in Messages, the receiver can say, 'Add this address to his contact card.'"
In fairness, it could be good that Apple is taking its time to get AI right. The company has long followed its own timetable, something CEO Tim Cook reiterated during a recent all-hands meeting. The AI revolution is "as big or bigger" than the internet, smartphones, cloud computing, and apps, he said. "Apple must do this," he said, adding that this is "ours to grab.”
Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on an AI-powered search engine to rival ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The rumored "answer engine" may exist on its own, or be part of the new Siri.