Apple Intelligence had a soft launch back in September and included very rudimentary features.
However, with Apple Intelligence, it feels like Apple didn’t learn a thing from those around them.
Those in my life who have Apple devices capable of using Apple Intelligence haven’t bothered to update, because why would they?
Those adverts have a very clear audience and show exactly what that feature of Apple Intelligence is meant for.
For instance, when asking Apple Intelligence to rewrite something to make it more professional, it does so, but doesn’t outline exactly what it has changed.
As Apple typically does, they have arrived fashionably late to the party, and the use of AI has rapidly spread throughout our entire lives. When Apple Intelligence was soft-launched in September, it had very basic features. I’m disappointed with how things are going, even though they’ve started to add more gradually to fulfill their original commitments.
Apple has a good history of being late but doing things correctly. Although it took them years to introduce widgets to iOS and macOS, their tardiness allowed them to get insightful input from people in their immediate vicinity who might have made some mistakes in the process. Features like Dynamic Island, which was a relatively novel approach to using a “hole-punch” camera on a display, are comparable. But with Apple Intelligence, it seems as though Apple hasn’t taken any advice from those around them. These four factors have contributed to Apple’s AI’s total failure.
4 Release schedule drip-fed.
It seems like a single, lengthy beta when you drag it on.
For their AI integration, Apple chose a phased release schedule, which I believe has only worked against them. They’ve “released” Apple Intelligence with very little functionality to start, rather than being able to create excitement with a ton of new features right away. Though it felt more like a whimper than a bang, December did bring a few more features. The people in my life who own Apple devices that can use Apple Intelligence haven’t bothered to update because they already use other AI solutions if they need something proofread or rewritten quickly. I personally don’t mind going out of my way to test new features in beta testing, but the average consumer can’t get excited about Apple’s latest innovation when the majority of the intriguing features are months away from what should be a proper release.
Three Gimmicks are heavily promoted.
I’m not sure how often you use emojis, but I use them occasionally when I text my loved ones. About four or five emojis are my favorites; I reserve the others for exceptional situations. I simply can’t get excited about things like Genmoji; I think they’re a little gimmicky. Without it being heavily promoted on major television shows and elsewhere, this wouldn’t be an issue.
The advertisements demonstrate the rewriting and proofreading skills I am aware of. The target audience for those advertisements is quite obvious, and they clearly demonstrate the purpose of that Apple Intelligence feature. But I feel a little disappointed when we devote an entire advertisement to Genmoji. I don’t want to dampen your spirits if you’re really thrilled about it. Create new emojis and use them however you like, but I believe that most users would prefer to see the more practical content displayed first. Let’s focus on the essentials first and leave the condiments for last if this is meant to be a generational shift in how we use our Apple devices.
2. Siri is still deficient.
Although Siri hasn’t been good for years, it is scheduled to receive a makeover in March 2025 with the next major Apple Intelligence update. Apple should have updated Siri and made it useful, in my opinion, as one of the first and most obvious things to do.
Siri still appears to have trouble with simple tasks at the moment, but it performs poorly on the more “advanced” tasks that Apple has given it access to in the interim. To find out if I have sent Michael anything regarding a recent sports trade, for instance, Siri informs me that Apple Cash isn’t accessible in my nation. True enough, Siri, Apple Cash isn’t available in Canada, but that wasn’t my request. Siri is still considered an afterthought at this time. It would have been more than sufficient to keep people waiting until other features were ready to be released if it had been fixed when Apple Intelligence was released, but instead we’re getting glorified ChatGPT tools and Genmoji.
A bit more time in the oven would have been beneficial.
Despite being the most helpful feature that Apple Intelligence currently offers, the Writing Tools still feels a little underdeveloped. In contrast to Apple, it is fast and fulfills my requests, but there are a few minor quality-of-life issues that I believe they have failed to address.
I initially believed that when I asked it to rewrite paragraphs or even a sentence, it simply didn’t emphasize the differences, which would make it very hard to tell if it had made any real changes. Although it does exhibit this behavior, it is not always used. When asked to proofread, it does this; otherwise, it doesn’t appear to do so. For example, Apple Intelligence rewrites something to make it more professional when asked to do so, but it doesn’t specify the changes. To make it appear as though it’s truly doing something and seems obvious for something that’s meant to assist with writing, it’s important to figure out how to cleverly display the “before and after.”. It’s definitely not an accident because the iPhone also exhibits this behavior.
Although it has promise, it hasn’t lived up to the expectations.
