I would say that’s the core of the issue. Apple advertised features as if they were “shipping features,” and they’re not. And some of them aren’t even “this will ship next month” - they’re “we intend to get around to adding this someday.”
In other words, it’s not about whether the features are good. It’s about whether they exist at all.
Not a big deal for anybody that has an older phone, but a much bigger deal for anybody that bought a new phone expecting it to do the things Apple shows in the ad.
This is a good take and it crystallized some of the discomfort I felt. The add with Bella Ramsey was good and it promised something that was missing in the AI space - integrating a multitude of personal data with a seemingly simple query. The apple of the past , would not promote vapour ware features. I personally do not care that Apple needs much more work on their AI features, take all the time that is needed as my work is not compromised. But, to promise and not deliver, while providing a poor user experience in not an Apple move, but. sadly it was.
Apple does not need the shiny new coating of AI to sell products. Apple should be honest with what AI can do with the current hardware. Perhaps have a conversation with users and iterate something better.
I hate these stock market games. It seems like a giant Ponzi scheme of speculation that does not serve real users and employees.
These things may be true for the moment, but I suspect that moment is rapidly ending. Android is good - very good. And when Google’s AI features allow for the kinds of things that Apple demoed but can’t deliver, it’s not a stretch to expect that to impact sales. When summer vacations, back to school, and holiday interactions with Android users show individual iPhone users what their Android peers can do, I think they’ll notice. Maybe not in massive numbers at first, but it will be more and more the longer Apple goes on failing to deliver on even a usable Siri, much less real GPT features.
I don’t quite understand why anyone who isn’t a Mac user would buy an iPhone even now. The best features are the “full ecosystem” and lock-in type experiences. I know that if I weren’t hooked on Mac (and iPad?), my iPhone would be gone already.
We can say we’re living fine without these features now, but the better those features get the less reason there becomes to do without them just so we can get…remind me what is it we love about iOS at this time?
People haven’t stopped buying iPhones but they are keeping them longer. And iPhone sales have been pretty flat for the last few years because Apple isn’t attracting a lot of new customers either.
I heard an analyst the other day say that Apple is looking to increase sales in India . . . . where the average selling price of a smartphone is $255?
This is, again, a matter of timing. Is their choice of announcements poor? Sure. Are they behind their own schedule? Sure. But the features are not absent. They are just late, according to Apple’s own timeline.
Heck, if Apple had said nothing, they’d be late anyway. Meanwhile all those who have delivered are showing all the myriad ways the technology fails spectacularly. It seems the reason we’re wringing our hands is we expect Apple to do better. That takes time.
I think someone above said that AI features are branding. Something like writing tools would just be called “writing tools” (which is the only Apple Intelligence Win in my book) without the AI branding.
It seems the reason we’re wringing our hands is we expect Apple to do better. That takes time.
If Apple hadn’t aggressively marketed AI during the iPhone 16 launch, there would have been less hand-wringing. It’s not just about the delay; it’s also about the perception of misleading advertising. They might not have intended to mislead consumers; they may have genuinely thought they would deliver updates with iOS 18 or 19 but ultimately could not. The impression of dishonesty is worse than failure.
In reality, does anyone really believe that there was that many people who bought a 16 just because of the AI? It will never be proven, but I highly doubt it was that big of a percentage that did. Again, like stated before, most people don’t even know or care about Apple Intelligence.
I don’t understand this at all. The features are absent. Go use ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, Claude. Then use Siri. It can’t even do what they advertised it to do. I’m at a loss for your defense of Apple on this one.
I agree most people don’t read blogs or forums or listen to tech podcasts. Most people do see commercials advertising features for the phone they’re about to buy. I actually think it’s more likely that a normie bought the phone expecting the features they saw on tv, subway posters, movie previews, etc.
Hi I’m a “normie” and upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro to get Apple’s AI features, particularly the upgraded Siri experience. I would not have upgraded if my, at the time, current iPhone, the 14 Pro, ran Apple Intelligence.
I seems laughable to believe Apple’s advertising doesn’t sell product on features.
I’m a “normie” and upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro to get Apple’s AI features, particularly the upgraded Siri experience. I would not have upgraded if my, at the time, current iPhone, the 14 Pro, ran Apple Intelligence.