Apple’s big push into artificial intelligence with “Apple Intelligence” and a smarter LLM Siri has faced major setbacks over the past year. According to a detailed report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company’s efforts to catch up in AI have been hampered by internal resistance, leadership issues, and technical missteps, forcing Apple to rethink its entire approach.
What Went Wrong with Apple Intelligence and Siri?
- Late Start in Generative AI: Apple was slow to recognize the importance of generative AI. Before ChatGPT’s public launch in late 2022, Apple reportedly hadn’t even considered a large-scale AI project like Apple Intelligence. This delay meant competitors like Google and OpenAI surged ahead while Apple was still figuring out its strategy.
- Leadership Reluctance and Skepticism: Apple’s software chief, Craig Federighi, was hesitant to invest heavily in AI, partly because the company prefers projects with clear end goals. AI, by nature, requires huge upfront investment without guaranteed results. This cautious approach led to underinvestment in critical hardware like GPUs, leaving Apple without the resources needed to compete at the highest level.
- Internal Friction and Leadership Gaps: John Giannandrea, Apple’s AI chief hired from Google in 2018, struggled to fit in with Apple’s top leadership. He didn’t push aggressively for bigger budgets and didn’t see rivals like OpenAI or Google as urgent threats. Some employees felt he didn’t drive his teams hard enough, while his outsider status made it harder to unify Apple’s AI efforts.
- Technical Challenges: Apple tried to bolt new generative AI features onto the old Siri system, hoping for a quick fix. But the old and new systems didn’t mesh well, leading to constant technical problems. One employee described it as “whack-a-mole”-fixing one issue would cause several more to pop up.
- Overpromising and Delays: Apple’s marketing hyped up new AI features-like a smarter Siri that could understand context across apps-before they were ready. As a result, the company has had to delay many promised features, frustrating users and damaging its reputation for reliability.
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How Apple Is Trying to Fix Things?
- Rebuilding Siri from Scratch: Apple has decided to completely overhaul Siri instead of patching the old system. Its AI team in Zurich is working on a new version called “LLM Siri,” built entirely on large language model (LLM) technology-the same kind of AI that powers ChatGPT. The goal is to make Siri more conversational and much better at understanding and synthesizing information.
- Smarter Data Collection: Apple plans to use iPhones and a privacy technique called “differential privacy” to improve its AI training data. The idea is to compare fake (synthetic) data with real language from users’ emails, but only on the device-so only processed, anonymized data is sent back to Apple.
- Expanding Siri’s Capabilities: Apple is exploring ways for the new Siri to search the web and pull in information from multiple sources-similar to how AI tools like Perplexity work. Apple has even approached companies like Perplexity about possible partnerships for AI-powered web search in Safari.
- Leadership Changes: After repeated delays and missed targets, John Giannandrea has been removed from overseeing Siri and robotics projects. Other executives, like Mike Rockwell (from Vision Pro), have taken over these teams. Giannandrea remains at Apple but is no longer directly responsible for Siri’s future.
Summary
- Apple’s Broader AI Crisis: Apple’s struggles with AI aren’t just about Siri. The company’s slow progress in generative AI is seen as a risk to its long-term competitiveness, especially as rivals launch more advanced assistants and features. If Apple can’t close the gap, it could affect everything from iPhone sales to future products like home robots.
- No Major Siri Upgrades at WWDC 2025: Don’t expect a big Siri relaunch at Apple’s upcoming developer conference in June 2025. Significant upgrades to Siri and Apple Intelligence are reportedly delayed, with the next-generation “LLM Siri” not expected until 2026 at the earliest.
- Ongoing Investments: Despite these setbacks, Apple is making major investments in AI infrastructure and talent, hoping to regain its innovative edge. The company is also working on other AI-driven projects, like robotics, under new leadership.
In summary, Apple’s AI journey has been rocky due to late starts, internal resistance, and technical hurdles. The company is now betting on a complete Siri rebuild and smarter AI strategies to catch up with industry leaders, but major results may still be a year or more away.
