Here’s what’s on our plate today:

• 🍏 Apple’s AI delays and Siri’s very uncertain future.

• 🗣️ Your say: Can Apple still catch up with the AI race?

• 🧠 AI bias, Russian hacks & a search war heating up.

• 💡 A pro tip to stay sharp + a meme that hurts (but in a good way).

Let’s dive in. No floaties needed…

The Laboratory

Apple’s AI struggle: Falling behind?

Apple, the poster child of the trillion-dollar company club, has its way of doing things. The company is not necessarily known for introducing the latest technology first; rather, it has mastered the ability to adopt trends that catch on. Historically, Apple waits for competitors to introduce a feature—such as OLED screens in smartphones—and then refines it to make it quintessentially Apple.

While this strategy may have worked until now, the current hype around AI indicates Apple is struggling to transition from a hardware-focused company to one capable of integrating and providing AI features for its users at scale.

Since the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI, smartphone makers have scrambled to integrate on-device models to provide AI-powered features. Companies like Google and Samsung have been at the forefront of this shift, quickly updating their software to include new features. Social media platforms like Meta-owned Instagram, WhatsApp, and X (formerly Twitter) have also made sure they don't miss the AI train. Apple, however, has been struggling.

Apple’s traditional playbook falters

At its WWDC24 event in June 2024, Apple announced ‘Apple Intelligence’, a suite of AI features for iPhone, Mac, and more. The company, which until then had avoided the explicit use of artificial intelligence, promised a complete overhaul of Siri. The revamped assistant would be able to carry out actions between apps, manage notifications, and automatically write and summarize text in mail and other apps.

Even at the announcement, Apple was playing catch-up to the competition. However, things looked promising, with new features expected shortly after the launch of the iPhone 16 series. Apple stated Siri would use OpenAI’s chatbot when unable to answer queries independently.

Staggered features, extended wait

By July 2024, news emerged that Apple would not launch all its AI features simultaneously but would instead use a staggered release approach, rolling features out in subsequent iOS updates. Around this time, users learned these features would not be fully available until at least Spring 2025.

Doubts about AI's real abilities

While working on AI features, a study by Apple researchers cast doubt on large language models' (LLMs) capability for genuine reasoning. The study concluded that LLMs did not perform formal reasoning but instead relied heavily on pattern-matching, aligning questions and solution steps with similar cases from training data.

The study found that most LLMs performed poorly when presented with novel mathematical problems, indicating they depended more on pattern matching than actual problem-solving skills.

Apple did not formally discuss the study's implications or how it might affect its AI plans, but it cast doubt on the company's AI ambitions. Timing for the release of the research was also significant; it came just before the company announced a delay in its timeline for releasing future AI features and integration for other AI models. All this hinted that Apple, while working on AI features, was not too keen to lean as heavily as its competitors had done on AI for its future hardware.

Underwhelming launch raises concerns

In October 2024, Apple finally released its first set of Apple Intelligence features. However, the response from reviewers and users was lukewarm. Many described the features as promising but incomplete, advising users considering upgrading their iPhones to wait until the new devices had full access to these features.

Despite improvements through subsequent updates, features like notification summaries encountered significant problems. Apple had to disable the feature for news apps to avoid embarrassment from misleading AI-generated notifications.

Moreover, Siri still has not received its promised overhaul.

The silver lining was Apple’s recognition of challenges in effectively integrating existing LLMs with Siri, leading it to develop ‘LLM Siri’, a reworked generative AI version of the assistant.

Siri’s uncertain future

By March 2025, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman—a prominent figure reporting on Apple—stated the timeline for the updated Siri had shifted from Spring 2025 to "at best 2027."

Gurman noted that Apple was working on releasing an interim LLM-powered Siri update, but the fully revamped version would not appear until around 2027. Apple was also expected to avoid discussing Siri updates at its upcoming WWDC25 event.

Gurman further stated Apple’s AI department struggled with securing AI training hardware and was plagued by ineffective leadership and talent defections to competitors who were rapidly advancing.

Challenges intensify in China

Delayed releases, problematic updates, and staggered Siri rollouts are not Apple's only AI-related struggles. The company faces additional challenges in providing AI features in China, the world’s largest smartphone market.

Apple has steadily lost ground in China to rivals like Huawei, which already integrates advanced AI features. Apple initially struggled to find a suitable AI partner in China.

In December 2024, reports indicated Apple faced difficulties adapting Baidu's large language models for the iPhone, struggling with prompt understanding and accuracy issues. By February 2025, Apple was negotiating with Alibaba to support AI services on iPhones in China, resolving months of speculation about its AI strategy involving companies like Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent.

However, geopolitical tensions soon complicated matters. The Trump administration and U.S. congressional officials expressed concerns that Apple's partnership with Alibaba could enhance China's AI capabilities and subject Apple to Chinese data-sharing laws.

Apple’s AI future in question

Apple’s AI struggles coincided with its worst annual smartphone sales decline in China since 2016, including a 25% drop in the final quarter. This decline partly resulted from the absence of competitive AI capabilities in iPhones sold in China, a market without ChatGPT.

In other markets, Apple faces increasing pressure to rapidly integrate meaningful AI features to maintain its competitive edge.

Apple’s traditional approach—carefully refining technologies rather than pushing them out first—appears less effective in the current AI landscape. Whether the company can correct this misstep and preserve its market-leading position remains uncertain.

Roko Pro Tip

Meme of the Day

Bite-Sized Brains

• Perplexity bids for Chrome search slot: The AI-powered search startup is reportedly trying to outbid Google to become the default in Chrome.

• Russian hackers hit U.S. courts: State-backed group APT29 is believed to be behind the 2023 federal court hack. Classified docs may have been accessed.

• AI bias flagged in Australia: Aussie Human Rights Commissioner warns current AI systems are reinforcing racism and sexism. Pushes for urgent regulation.

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