Why Apple's AI strategy is facing doubts

Has Apple, the biggest company in the world, bungled its generative artificial intelligence strategy? Doubts blew out into the open when one of the company's closest observers, tech analyst John Gruber, earlier this month gave a blistering critique in a blog post titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino," which is home to Apple's headquarters. The respected analyst and Apple enthusiast said he was furious for not being more skeptical when the company announced last June that its Siri chatbot would be getting a major generative AI upgrade. The technology, to be released as part of the Apple Intelligence suite of iPhone software, was to catapult the much-derided voice assistant's capabilities beyond just giving the weather or setting a timer. Moreover, the stumbles on AI came swiftly after lackluster reception of Vision Pro, Apple's expensive virtual reality headset that has failed to gain traction since its release in 2024.