The AI dilemma, trapping Apple
In the era of AI, Apple seems to be a little powerless, and every step is "half a beat slow." ”
Recently, Apple announced that it would postpone the Siri artificial intelligence upgrade feature originally scheduled to be launched this year until 2026.
This AI assistant that has been upgraded for a year, is it so difficult to do?
This giant, which is currently the world's largest in terms of market capitalization, is its market competitiveness still competitive?
Siri features did not meet expectations, and it was rare to publicly announce a product extension
On March 7, 2025, Apple officially confirmed that it will postpone the Siri artificial intelligence upgrade feature originally scheduled to be launched this year until 2026. "It will take longer than we expected to implement these features," the spokesperson said. Features scheduled to be introduced with the iOS 18.4 update in April — including access to users' personal information to answer questions and more precise control over apps — will be delayed "within the next year."
All of these new Siri features, which were shown in June last year, are now in vain.
Specifically, over the past few months, Apple engineers have worked hard to fix a large number of vulnerabilities in the project, but the progress has not been as expected, and internal testing has found that these features are neither stable nor advertised. Some within Apple's AI division believe the company may need to "rebuild these features from scratch." ”
This incident may directly lead to internal turmoil in Apple's AI.
Apple employees are questioning whether CEO Tim Cook or the board of directors will need to reshuffle the leadership of its AI division, arguing that the company will continue to lag behind its competitors without major reforms. It is reported that earlier this year, Apple has appointed Kim Wallas, a senior software executive, to assist the AI team.
The postponement also caused a serious public relations crisis for Apple, which forced Apple to issue a speech guide to AppleCare customer service: "If a customer asks when Siri will be released, please reiterate that we expect it to be launched within the next year." ”
Insider sources say the features may not be released until 2026 at the earliest, while the more conversational ChatGPT-style Siri may have to be delayed until 2027 with iOS 20.
Some analysts pointed out that this is one of the rare cases where Apple has publicly announced a product delay, after Apple had similar situations only on the 2016 AirPods and the 2011 white iPhone 4.
The delay comes at a time when competitors such as Amazon and Google have launched more advanced AI assistants, and the delay could put Apple about five years behind its competitors in the AI assistant space.
Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and others have made significant progress in natural language processing and cross-device interaction, while Apple's Siri's "conversational ability" is still at the basic level, and if the gap between Apple and its competitors continues to widen, it may directly lead to the risk of user churn.
In addition, the postponement of the release of AI features can directly raise questions about Apple's innovation ability. Some analysts believe that if it fails to launch breakthrough features by 2026, Apple could lose its dominant position in the race for AI phones and dampen investor and consumer confidence.
In addition to the delay in the release of the Siri artificial intelligence upgrade feature, the release of Apple's smart home hub has been delayed due to the delay in the Siri upgrade.
According to reports, Apple's smart home hub device, which was originally planned to be launched in March 2025, will use a 6-inch or 7-inch touch screen, which can be wall-mounted or table-mounted, run tvOS system, support video calls, smart home control, calendar viewing and other functions, and was called "Apple's most important product launch this year" by Gurman. ”
However, the device has also been delayed because it relies heavily on the yet-to-be-completed Siri personalization upgrade, which means it will have to wait until iOS 19 or even 2026 for Siri personalization.
At the same time, Apple's internal concerns also involve the technical level, and to improve Siri, it may need to run more powerful AI models on the device, which will increase the burden on the hardware and weaken the synergy of its hardware ecosystem.
What is widely seen by the public is that Apple's AI strategy relies on deep integration of hardware (such as iPhone, Mac) and software, but the delay in Siri's upgrade may weaken the attractiveness of its ecological closed loop. For example, users' expectations for Apple's Intelligence suite (e.g., AI writing tools, Genmoji) are likely to be cooled by Siri's slow progress.
Apple's announcement to postpone Siri's AI upgrade plan to 2026 highlights the dilemma of Apple's AI development. Apple, which is vigorously deploying AI, when will it be able to get out of the AI development dilemma?
Rising stars continue to compete, and Apple adjusts its strategy
Many believe that Apple's "conservative" strategies, such as delays to ensure quality, may sacrifice market share in the short term, but will help maintain brand trust in the long run.
They believe that Siri's "slowness" is not technical inertia, but the price of ecological closed loop.
They suggested that Apple deepen its layout by advancing AI capabilities in stages. Despite the delay in core functionality, Apple plans to roll out some Siri optimizations (such as typing, ChatGPT integration) in iOS 18.5, which can alleviate user dissatisfaction to some extent.
In fact, in the face of the continuous impact of latecomers, such as Xiaomi and other manufacturers that pay more attention to ecological integration, Apple's own product strategy is also adjusting.
Apple has recently been exposed to the possibility of abandoning the traditional annual update model in favor of a more flexible product launch strategy. This adjustment stems from the increasing complexity of its product line (e.g., iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, etc.), the increasing pressure to iterate on technology, and consumer dissatisfaction with "toothpaste-squeezing" innovation. For example, the update to the iPhone 16 was criticized by users for being only fine-tuned in appearance and lacking substantial innovations.
Apple's strategic shift is a direct reflection of the technology industry's shift from "fixed-cycle updates" to "on-demand iterations", which may affect the release cadence of other vendors.
Apple's layout in the field of AI (such as the step-by-step launch of Apple Intelligence) shows that its fork mode has also shifted from hardware to technology integration.
It is worth mentioning that Apple's ecological closed loop (such as the deep binding of iOS and hardware) is still its core competitiveness, and other manufacturers need to find a balance in differentiation, and manufacturers need to maintain competitiveness through innovations such as AI and ecological collaboration.
Is Apple really "lagging behind"?
It is undeniable that Apple does lag behind in terms of generative AI, intelligent assistant iteration speed, etc.
At a time when Samsung and Huawei have seized the high-end market through the combination of "folding screen + AI", Apple still relies on the design of straight mobile phones, and the foldable iPhone is expected to be launched in 2026, which also makes the public criticize its lagging hardware innovation.
However, in some subdivisions (such as hardware integration and privacy protection), Apple still maintains a leading position, and Apple is currently in the stage of "coexistence of advantages and challenges".
In terms of hardware integration, Apple continues to strengthen local AI computing power through self-developed chips (such as A19 and M series) and deploys device-side AI. For example, the iPhone 17 series will be equipped with TSMC's A19 chip with 2nm process, which supports complex local AI computing and is positioned as a "native AI mobile phone." ”
This strategy of deep collaboration between software and hardware enables it to have performance advantages in on-device AI tasks (such as image processing and health data analysis) and reduce dependence on the cloud. And device-side AI is also being regarded as a major direction for the future development of AI. So, while Google is using AI to redefine search, Apple is using chips to redefine the boundaries of AI.
While deploying device-side AI, Apple adheres to the combination of device-side data processing and private cloud computing, and enhances the core competitiveness of the brand through "privacy protection". For example, Siri's personalized service needs to store user data locally, avoiding the risk of privacy leakage.
This strategy is highly attractive in data-sensitive markets such as Europe and China, although it may also lead to limited openness to AI capabilities.
At present, for the Chinese market, Apple is accelerating the research and development of localized AI, forming a team of Chinese engineers to develop AI modules (such as image processing and voice interaction) that meet regulatory requirements, with the goal of launching in mid-2025.
However, due to the limitations of data localization policies, the adaptation period of some functions (such as context understanding) is long, resulting in regional experience differences.
At the level of AI applications in health and wearable devices, Apple is also continuing to explore. Its Apple Watch, AirPods and other products have expanded health monitoring capabilities (such as blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring) through AI technology, and launched the "Apple Coach" health app to provide personalized recommendations — although Apple's AI is currently like a tree that won't bloom.
Apple's vertical integration capabilities in wearables and health far exceed most of its competitors, and the healthcare industry seems to be the first window for AI to benefit mankind, and Apple seems to be on the way to the front.
Not the first to start, but to improve?
Apple's Siri delay reflects the complexity of AI technology, especially the high standards for privacy, hardware compatibility, and user experience.
This is also practicing Cook's emphasis on "not pursuing starters, but seeking perfection", but Cook's steadiness seems to be becoming a Cook trap. Apple's insistence on an overly conservative strategy may lead to missing the market window, and it seems that Apple has a hard time answering the difficult question of balancing technological aggressiveness and stability.
In the short term, this delay may weaken Apple's first-mover advantage in the AI race, but in the long run, if its robust strategy can be combined with technological breakthroughs to improve the speed of technology iteration, it still has a chance to be a late mover in the AI race.
In the future, Volkswagen may still focus on the actual performance of Siri's upgrade in 2026, as well as Apple's further actions in AI chips and ecological collaboration.
Apple's AI race is not in the 2024 press conference, but in 2026 at the user's fingertips - but how much time does the market give Apple?