Following Apple Inc.'s recent postponement of enhanced Siri functionalities, experts speculated that this revised schedule might affect iPhone sales. Customers might wait for these updated features before upgrading their devices.
However, Apple might encounter an issue larger than those mentioned — or more significant than any of its other frequently discussed hurdles, such as tariffs This was demonstrated by a recent blog entry from John Gruber, who has been closely following Apple’s activities for over twenty years and is frequently regarded as an admirer of the tech giant.
Gruber, who authors the well-respected Daring Fireball blog, didn’t mince words By suggesting that Apple has undermined its reliability through premature promotion of underdeveloped artificial intelligence features.
“ Damaged "is arguably too passive," Gruber posted on Wednesday. "It was squandered This wasn't something that happened to Apple; instead, the decision-makers inside the organization were responsible for it.
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At last year's WWDC developer conference, Apple initially discussed its Apple Intelligence AI capabilities, pledging a more intuitive iteration of the Siri voice assistant. As an example, if someone texts you with an address, you can instruct Siri to append this location to your friend’s contact information, and Siri will comprehend your request correctly. When launching the updated range of iPhones in September, the firm elaborated on these advancements made to Siri.
Subsequently, Apple promoted these capabilities via advertisements, which included a commercial featuring a woman asking Siri for the identity of someone she had encountered several months earlier at a specific café.
“ Who Gruber questioned in his post about why these features were included in the WWDC keynote, promising their arrival within the year, despite being so underdeveloped that they couldn’t be demonstrated to the press even in a controlled setting at that time.
Three months later, who determined that Apple should intensify their efforts and showcase these features in a television advertisement? They also wanted to highlight them as key selling points for the iPhone 16 series—not merely any ordinary items, but rather the most prized possessions of the firm and objects of desire across the whole sector—especially considering that these features were still so incomplete or possibly entirely dysfunctional. still could not be demoed to the press?”
Gruber noted that Apple teased yet-to-launch Siri features in various iPhone 16 commercials that now may not be ready “until months after the iPhone 17 lineup is unveiled.”
Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.
According to Gruber, the firm didn't initially have a reputation for reliability. In 1997, when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, the company had avoided financial collapse yet lacked credibility entirely. To rebuild faith, Jobs focused on ensuring that products would consistently arrive as scheduled.
As other firms frequently highlighted their forays into artificial intelligence during earnings calls at the onset of the AI revolution, CEO Tim Cook advocated for Apple’s more subdued strategy. "Our practice has always been to unveil products once they reach the market, which remains our standard operating procedure," he stated during an August 2023 analyst conference call.
However, the sophisticated Siri functionalities that Apple showcased earlier last year were not yet prepared for release. Gruber pointed out that these depictions essentially served as a "concept video" instead of being actual product demonstrations.
Today’s Apple "doesn't release conceptual videos," he stated. "They solely showcase functional products and features."
Gruber proceeded to talk about an old Fortune story That highlighted Jobs’s irritation with MobileMe, an email service launched in 2008 that didn’t function as promised. According to the report, Jobs severely criticized his staff for damaging the company’s image. Gruber pondered whether Apple conducted a comparable meeting this time around.
As reported by Bloomberg News, the head of Siri at Apple did convene a meeting with their team members. calling the delays ugly Partly due to Apple having showcased them to the public beforehand. The company chose not to comment on this matter when approached for remarks and also did not reply to subsequent requests for clarification.
For long-time readers of Gruber’s content, his latest post was quite remarkable. "I've been following Daring Fireball for 23 years, and I have never seen him be so critical of the company," noted Nick Farina, among those loyal subscribers. wrote on X It feels like reading an obituary.
Following reports from Bloomberg News and other sources reported on Apple’s confirmation of the Siri delays on March 7 Last week saw a significant drop in Apple's share prices, plummeting by 10.7%. This downturn was over double the loss experienced by Tesla Inc.'s stock, making it the worst-performing amongst the "Big Seven" tech giants. Out of the five trading days during the week, Apple's shares dropped in four, with only the final day on Friday showing an improvement.
Still, some Apple enthusiasts remained optimistic. "Rome wasn't constructed overnight, nor will Apple's artificial intelligence strategy be realized quickly; however, the foundation for this approach through what they call Apple Intelligence is starting to take shape and will reshape how we view Apple's expansion among consumers in the next few years," noted Daniel Ives from Wedbush in his report released on Friday.
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