Apple Intelligence Delay: Marketing Black Eye, Not A Strategic Failure* (*Yet)
Just ahead of the weekend, Apple quietly announced that it is delaying adding more genAI into Siri until later this year. This includes the most significant improvements, where Siri is more conversational, understands context, and can use App Intents APIs to jump around different apps/services on your behalf (assuming the software developer has enabled this). The delay presumably means into the next OS versions in the fall of 2025, but Bloomberg is reporting that the delays are much more serious and may require scrapping certain elements and starting over.
Apple has pushed Apple Intelligence across its product line, but it is most important to the iPhone.* Tim Cook noted that iPhone 16 launch sales in regions where Apple Intelligence had begun deployment were higher than in geographies where it is not available, and it the central element of Apple’s ad campaigns. This is a problem, because today’s Apple Intelligence is not a compelling set of features. Genmoji is fun, few people need AI help adjusting the tone of their iMessages, and having AI summarize messages vacillates between being genuinely useful and an annoyance.
It was always a risk to advertise Apple Intelligence well ahead of it being close to feature complete. The delay gives Google and Amazon a chance to establish Gemini and Alexa+ but it is not clear that they will be able to take full advantage. Gemini is certainly farther along than Apple Intelligence on phones, but it does not have significant cross-app agentic AI capabilities today (Samsung’s implementation with a handful of apps and personal data store is the closest, and it is still extremely limited). Amazon just promised impressive device and services integration with Alexa+ but the actual implementation will take months — or more — which is why the pricing model (including it in Amazon Prime) was crucial.
If Apple indeed just needs another six to nine months of time, the Apple Intelligence delay will be a marketing black eye for Apple and an opportunity for rivals, but not a competitive knockout. If Google, Amazon, or even Meta can implement useful cross-app agentic AI in the interim, they can start chipping away at the Apple ecosystem.
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*Apple will also need a step change improvement in Apple Intelligence to make inroads in the digital home. However, the iPhone is crucial to Apple’s bottom line and strategic dominance, while the home hasn’t been a meaningful part of Apple’s products, revenues, or ecosystem leverage to date.