This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Apple's rite of passage to go from mediocrity to being decent is coming to Siri. | Image by PhoneArena
Apple is still struggling to get Apple Intelligence up to the levels that were promised back in 2024. We’re finally going to see some progress next month with the announcement of the new Siri app for iPhone, but even then Siri will be in Beta according to one report.
Apple insider Mark Gurman believes that Apple Intelligence is two or three years behind its competitors. Furthermore, whenever Apple does eventually catch up, rival AI services like Gemini would have naturally gotten even better, perpetually leaving Apple a couple of years behind.
This constant game of catch-up, especially when Apple might try to play it off as a necessary compromise for user privacy, reminds me of the old iPhone and MacBook days. When Apple products were fashion items more than practical tech for everyday use.
The good old days
The MacBook wasn't always as capable as it is today. | Image by AppleMan
Well, ‘good’ might be a stretch, but Apple products weren’t always as capable as they are today. It’s a perception that is still stuck in the minds of a large subset of customers, who believe that Apple has never had an original thought and its products are flimsy and underpowered.
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The iPhone, for example, used to feature tiny batteries and very low amounts of RAM. MacBooks, on the other hand, were incredibly underpowered, though often quite pretty to look at.
Apple justified it back then too
Some of you might remember that Apple used to justify the lower amounts of RAM and computing power across its products. The company used to claim that, due to the hardware and software synergy in its devices, they performed on par with competitors that had better specs on paper.
To an extent, that was true. But until the MacBook kept using Intel chips, it really wasn’t a great line of laptops. The iPhone, though a much better purchase than Apple’s laptops back then, also always fell behind its Android peers.
Why do you think Apple keeps lagging behind in new technologies?
That has all changed
Forget the Pro models, even the base iPhone 17 is fantastic. | Image by PhoneArena
Apple products have not been the same for a long time. The introduction of the M-series chips completely changed the MacBook, making it one of the best laptops money can buy.
Apple’s laptops have improved so much that the recent MacBook Neo, a budget-friendly entry, is seriously threatening the Windows laptop market and selling incredibly well.
The iPhone also caught up a few generations back. Performance, cameras, battery life, RAM, and even the price tags match those found on Samsung and Google phones. Some Chinese flagships still excel, however, but then again they’re in a league of their own.
So what’s the deal with Apple Intelligence? Will Apple always be behind?
Siri is going through a rite of passage
Siri has been a very disappointing digital assistant for too many years. | Image by PhoneArena
The entire Apple Intelligence ordeal really reminds me of the old Apple days. I’m left wondering whether Siri will go through the same growth that the iPhone and the MacBook did.
For years, Siri will permanently stay two or three years behind competitors, with Apple often just relying on said competitors. It will become something that everyone just accepts.
The average smartphone user probably won’t care, like they didn’t back when the iPhone didn’t have as much RAM as other flagship phones. For customers who value AI highly, there will be plenty of Android alternatives.
Eventually, there will come a period where AI innovation will stagnate or become too costly for too little a return, and most smartphone manufacturers will start taking it easy. Then, as happened with other specs, Apple products will catch up and there will be equilibrium.
But keeping in mind how the tech industry operates, there would likely be a new technology out by then and Apple might repeat the entire process all over again.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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