When a revolutionary technology is promised and the followup isn’t there, it sows distrust in the company. Worse yet, is when legitimate work is spoiled elsewhere because of these negative perceptions and experiences. What is going with Siri? With Apple, and their plans for AI? In order to gain a better understanding of the bigger picture, we need to zoom out of Cupertino for a bit.
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(Source for above image: Apple Fifth Avenue – Wikipedia, URL)
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Market pressure to compete

Soon after AI was introduced to the public, many started characterizing it in the way the dot com bubble was. It doesn’t help how many companies saw growth from AI over the last few years, putting pressure on others. Companies desire to compete first and foremost, irrespective of whether they’re really touting AI.

Examples:

• Amazon’s “Just walk out” was actually powered by a thousand humans, continents away.
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• Canadian Investment firm Delphia touts an AI that could predict companies and trends, but was proven to have no such capabilities and was fined by the SEC for $225K. Global predictions also agreed to pay a fine of $175K.
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• Wirecard Fintech claimed they had AI powering their services, but instead were actually using spreadsheets to get the job done.
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• A less-reliable Amazon Alexa+ proves Apple was righteous to take it slow with Siri.

Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere these days, even in places it doesn’t belong. What seemingly started as a spark from rapid initial mass-market adoption, quickly turned into a buzzword plastered everywhere used to leverage an extra dollar out of the consumer in a perpetuation of a “consume and replace, don’t repair” culture.
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Early general market successes, and a hope AI isn’t a bubble

As ColdFusion puts it: “..This time could be a little bit different. AI has the ability to mimic human cognitive labor, a feat no previous technology has been able to do, without intrinsic human intervention.” he adds, as pointed out from a Lex Friedman podcast.

• To paraphrase Mark Cuban: “We are early in the tech cycle. Unlike the dot com era, there are a lack of IPOs in the AI sector, lack of companies going public which have no intrinsic value, as well as a lack of “funky AI companies”.
  • Back then: many websites at the time were made, went public, and investors threw money at anything with a “.com” on it.
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• As Coldfusion puts it: “Nvidia is tentative proof that this is a new tech sector that will lead to further outperformance. Perhaps excessive, but indicative of what the market thinks of AI.”
  • Fact: As of August 12, 2025, Nvidia’s stock had risen 67% compared to the same date the year prior.
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• Bad players vs. The Gartner Hype effect

Editor’s thoughts: I strongly agree with Mark Cuban when he says “The person who controls the algorithm, controls the world.”
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Why Apple gets hardware right

Take for example, Microsoft’s AI Copilot PCs: People aren’t liking them. Demonstrations show the possibilities of AI and highlight performance vs Intel PCs from 5 years ago, at the expense of quality. Nobody is going to see the benefit of performance if the computer can’t do the job right. Why would someone care to generate an image faster if it looks messed up?
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(Credit for above 2 pics: Snapdragon CoPilot+ Laptops: You’ve Been Misled… Again – Just Josh)

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In hardware, despite claims from many manufacturers, Apple IS holding the line with single core performance scores. There are devices which have a higher multicore score than even the most powerful Mac, but this won’t change the fact it will feel faster on a Mac.

But let’s not talk about (examples):

• Galaxy Books having literal missing graphics drivers out-the-box (Skip to 3:11)
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• Manufacturers not updating their websites so you download the wrong version of the architecture of the drivers you need, to the point even factory resets won’t work
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• The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 not properly charging with USB-C, so you can only use the included charger. This has also been cited elsewhere.

We shouldn’t brush the numerous hardware failures and manufacturing flaws of Apple devices under the rug either, but at the core of it, Apple is doing something right with their chips. They know how to hold the line even after hardware failures like the display cable in a 2016-17 ‘Book, or the 2011 AMD GPUs. At the very minimum, even those tend to have a good first impression unlike an AI+Copilot PC.
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Why Apple gets AI right

Companies and CEOs alike keep saying artificial intelligence won’t replace jobs, however, it’s difficult to tell yourself to trust such statements when the tech industry has become a steady revolving door of layoffs. This will continue to happen as companies find ways to employ artificial intelligence which suits them best. Unlike most other companies, Apple is committed to job retention despite growth in artificial intelligence, and it shows.

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The delays with Siri and Apple Intelligence is not at all a failure on Apple’s part, but is instead the effect is from multiple forces, just as I had felt within:

• The pressure to compete with other companies who see growth from AI, and having to respond to it in order to stay relevant, irrespective of their own values and strengths.
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• Their products aren’t being washed by AI, instead they are honing in on strengths.
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• The pulled Siri commercial from earlier this year can be more attributed to Apple trying a ton to get it right, while demonstrating a recognition of AI’s influence in the market. Before Apple made the iPhone, there was the Motorola ROKR. Apple presented it in a keynote, hardly anyone liked it, but alot of us are still using an iPhone anyway. The pulled Siri commercial was borne from a rare admission of the pressure to compete, and we know in hindsight a ROKR didn’t stop the iPhone.
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In Conclusion

As a civilization, we are certainly entering the “Trough of disillusionment” era of AI (or have already done so in varying stages). It’ll take much disappointment before something substantive comes out, regardless of what your company’s logo looks like. As a business, your job is to find out what it’ll take to get to that slope of enlightenment, and build it. You should already be at least cognizant of what it would take to get there, and if you don’t, you’re behind. Apple isn’t.

When I picked up my 15-Inch M4 MacBook Air as an Apple computer enthusiast, I wasn’t fretting about Apple Intelligence nor was I disappointed. I brought it home, turned AI off, and reveled in the power of the new M4 chip. In fact, I’m even considering it to replace my fully maxed-out 2018 intel mini, is how much I like it. I’m not gonna turn a blind eye to being able to repair my own devices, or being able to fully own and service what I already paid for – but that’s a conversation for another time. I want to see the benefit of Apple Intelligence before being sold on it.

“As has been the case throughout history, the train will leave the station without telling us. Whether we’re aware to jump on board or not, is the question.”, as Coldfusion puts it. The way I see it: When it comes to AI, it appears to me like Apple hopped on the right train, just like they did with macOS. It’s just gonna take some time.