Mr Branding: Apple's AI Launch Falls Short, But Long-Term Success Likely, Says Gurman

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Apple's AI Launch Falls Short, But Long-Term Success Likely, Says Gurman

A new report from Mark Gurman backs up the common belief that Apple is behind its rivals in AI development. Apple plans to roll out its first AI-powered Apple Intelligence features this month, but Gurman isn't impressed. He calls the upcoming changes lackluster. Still, he sees Apple's unique strong points. He thinks the company will end up leading the AI field down the road.

Gurman initially noted that Apple’s AI features are set to debut with iOS 18.1, expected to be released on October 28. While the rollout is eagerly anticipated, his latest assessment suggests these features may not live up to expectations. The centerpiece, a notification summary feature, will prove useful only if it performs reliably. Gurman points out that Apple's own research showed significant shortcomings compared to other AI chatbots, with OpenAI's ChatGPT outperforming Siri in both accuracy and overall capability.

"The research found that OpenAI’s ChatGPT was 25% more accurate than Apple’s Siri, and able to answer 30% more questions.", revealed the report, adding further, "In fact, some at Apple believe that its generative AI technology — at least, so far — is more than two years behind the industry leaders."

Apple's track record though, hints that this difference might shrink faster than we think. Gurman points to past cases like Apple Maps saying the company's way of bringing new ideas to life—whether by working on them in-house, bringing in the best people, or investing in tech startups—will push it ahead.

Apple's deep pockets and huge user base give it a big edge. The company can roll out new features across its wide-ranging ecosystem, with billions of devices ready to take on updates. Also, Apple can tweak its hardware to work with new software changes. At first, Apple Intelligence worked on certain devices, but now it's compatible with most iPads and the newest iPhone models, and more are in the pipeline.

Apple's plan to launch M4-based Macs and a new iPhone SE in 2025, plus its move to add AI features to gadgets like the Apple Watch and Vision Pro, show how serious the company is about growing its AI presence. By 2026, we can expect almost every Apple product with a screen to have AI capabilities.

Also read: AI Concerns Grow in 2024: Data Security Tops at 46%, Costs at 43%, Accuracy at 36%

Apple’s more cohesive hardware and software integration stands in contrast to rivals like Google and Samsung, which face challenges in rolling out updates across their more fragmented ecosystems. According to Gurman, these competitors may struggle to match Apple’s pace in releasing new features and upgrades.

Despite Apple’s advancements in AI, Gurman questions whether consumers are genuinely interested in these innovations, suggesting that camera improvements are a more compelling factor for iPhone buyers. He predicts that if the iPhone succeeds this year, it will likely be due to features unrelated to AI.