The iPhone 16 was unveiled on 9 September 2024, iOS 18 was released on the 16th, and the hardware hit the shelves shortly thereafter. Yet, despite the usual fanfare, Apple enthusiasts are still without the promised Apple Intelligence AI engine.
Without its headline AI features, the iPhone 16 feels underwhelming, raising questions as to whether Apple intentionally separated the hardware and AI rollouts, or if this points to deeper concerns about the company’s AI readiness or if it has run out of ideas.
Apple’s rivals have AI functionality on their products and other bell’s and whistles, the iPhone 16 is dull with minor tinkering to the camera.
As it stands, iOS 18.1 is expected to arrive on 28 October 2024, bringing with it the first wave of AI functionality to iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models. This update aims to enhance Siri’s conversational capabilities, introduce a translation feature comparable to Google Live Translate, and lay the groundwork for Apple’s AI ambitions. But by the time it arrives, Apple is a long way behind.
By contrast, Google has been quick to integrate AI across its platform. Android 15, though itself an incremental upgrade to a mature operating system, was decoupled from the Pixel 9 launch.
This version of Android is not transformative, but the integration of Google’s Gemini AI features with third-party apps such as WhatsApp and Spotify demonstrates a clear advantage. While Apple has historically been slow to open its ecosystem to third-party developers, Google’s head start in AI is evident.
Google’s Gemini platform could pose a significant threat to Apple’s dominance. The Tame Apple press has been able to sell phones based on what it called Apple’s unique superior user experience. However, if Google continues to refine its AI capabilities and strengthen its integrations, it will fall behind.
The question is how did Jobs’ Mob allow this to happen? While it has a history of waiting for other people to come up with the innovation and then run in and claim it invented it, in this case it is too late to do that. This ultra-conservative approach was something that might be expected from Microsoft during the Steve [sounds of silence] Ballmer era.
Even if the iPhone 16 gets its prototype Apple intelligence, there is not much else there to make it a phone worth having. Even the most extreme Apple fanboy would find it difficult to justify an upgrade. Apple’s main danger has always been that its fanboys peak over the wall of its walled garden of delights and sample Andoid’s forbidden fruit and discovering it is much better. Its approach with the iPhone 16 has done just that.