Apple can be considered a late bloomer in the generative AI space compared to its rivals like Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Anthropic. The iPhone maker is well-known for its "not first, but best" mantra, which could potentially be attributed to its late investment in the landscape.
The tech giant announced its AI strategy, Apple Intelligence, last year, promising to overhaul Siri with next-generation capabilities that would evolve it beyond a simple digital assistant, allowing it to compete on an even playing field with ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.
However, it has now been over a year since Apple overpromised but ultimately underdelivered. Even before the company unveiled its AI suite of tools across its tech stack, insiders expressed concerns, citing that Apple's AI might already be two years behind OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Admittedly, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella argued that OpenAI had a 2-year runway to build and develop ChatGPT uncontested. Up to this point, Apple has only delivered minor AI features, such as Writing Tools and Image Playground, prompting some users to refer to Apple's flagship AI tools as vaporware.
Earlier this year, the company announced that it was delaying the launch of Apple Intelligence to 2026 but didn't explain why. The delayed AI strategy has seemingly brewed trouble for the iPhone maker, landing it in the corridors of justice as it fights a lawsuit for allegedly using "false" Apple Intelligence ads to drive iPhone 16 sales.
Apple Intelligence had two iterations yet none shipped
There has been considerable speculation about the reason behind Apple's delayed launch of Apple Intelligence. However, Tom's Guide Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer and TechRadar's Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff recently connected with Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, and Apple Global VP of Marketing, Greg Joswiak, to discuss the company's AI strategy.
As you may know, Apple recently held its annual developer conference, WWDC 2025, where it made a host of announcements, including iOS 26, which ships with Liquid Glass, a new UI reminiscent of Microsoft's Windows Aero UI in Vista. However, Apple Intelligence wasn't in the fold, a clear indication that the company plans to unveil it at a later date.
While speaking to the outlets, Federighi shed more light on Apple's delayed Apple Intelligence launch:
"We found that when we were developing this feature that we had, really, two phases, two versions of the ultimate architecture that we were going to create. Version one we had working here at the time that we were getting close to the conference, and had, at the time, high confidence that we could deliver it."
"We thought by December, and if not, we figured by spring, until we announced it as part of WWDC. Because we knew the world wanted a really complete picture of, 'What's Apple thinking about the implications of Apple intelligence and where is it going?'"
The executive revealed that Apple was working on two versions of the Siri architecture simultaneously, with the second version, which Federighi referred to as V2, featuring "a deeper end-to-end architecture that we knew was ultimately what we wanted to create, to get to a full set of capabilities that we wanted for Siri."
He further disclosed that the video demos showcased during Apple's WWDC 2024 were for the V1 Siri architecture. Apple doubled down on its efforts to develop and improve Apple Intelligence, as well as the overhauled Siri.
However, Apple quickly realized that the V1 architecture was consistent with critical limitations, which "weren't getting us to the quality level that we knew our customers needed and expected."
We realized that V1 architecture, you know, we could push and push and push and put in more time, but if we tried to push that out in the state it was going to be in, it would not meet our customer expectations or Apple standards, and that we had to move to the V2 architecture.
Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi
Apple says it came to this realization during the spring and decided to share the information with the world, announcing that it would not be able to deliver Apple Intelligence or the overhauled Siri within the previously communicated timeline.
At this juncture, Apple shifted its focus to the V2 Siri architecture. Federighi indicated that the company learned from its mistakes with the V1 architecture, vowing not to pre-communicate a launch date for Apple Intelligence and an overhauled Siri.
The executive indicated that the company would only discuss the status of its AI strategy when the V2 architecture is already delivering in-house, beyond mere video demonstrations.
Federighi joked that he could demo the V2 architecture Apple has been working on, but wouldn't, although he claimed that it's already working in-house, "but we're not yet to the point where it's delivering at the quality level that I think makes it a great Apple feature."
The executive indicated that the software and hardware giant wouldn't announce the launch date of its AI strategy until it is ready to seed it. He further shed more details about the V2 architecture Apple has been working on, stating:
"The V1 architecture was sort of half of the V2 architecture, and now we extend it across, sort of make it a pure architecture that extends across the entire Siri experience."
"So we've been very much building up upon what we have been building for V1, but now extending it more completely, and that more homogeneous end-to-end architecture gives us much higher quality and much better capability. And so that's what we're building now."
The executives indicated that Apple's AI vision isn't to deliver a chatbot for its users. "When we started with Apple Intelligence, we were very clear: this wasn't about just building a chatbot," added Federighi
Instead, Apple aims to integrate Apple Intelligence across its tech stack. "In a way that meets you where you are, not that you're going off to some chat experience in order to get things done," the executive concluded.
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