WWDC is my favorite Apple event of the year. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been excited to see what the future of iPhone, iPad, and Mac looks like, often opting for buggy developer betas as soon as the test software becomes available.
As I grow older, WWDC gets more and more intriguing, offering a glimpse into Apple’s software design and how the company looks to shape the future of its devices over the next 12 months.
Last year, WWDC 2024 was quite possibly the most exciting keynote we had ever seen, showcasing an AI-fueled future with promises that not only made me excited for artificial intelligence but would ultimately lead me to take a leap of faith and join TechRadar to write about AI.
12 months on, and we’ve all had front row seats to the Apple Intelligence launch mess, awaiting WWDC 2025 for Apple to rectify its mistakes and showcase exactly what AI on iPhone, iPad, and Mac is capable of.
Unfortunately, new reports this week suggest that those hoping for Apple to catch up in the AI race and showcase all of Apple Intelligence’s new bells and whistles in the newly renamed iOS 26 will ultimately be disappointed.
There’s hope
At first, I was also pretty deflated. I’ve been critical about Apple’s AI rollout, but I’ve also remained hopeful, championing the company’s ability to be last to market, but often be best. I thought a year was the right amount of time to get everything working behind the scenes so that Apple CEO Tim Cook and co could blow everyone’s expectations out of the water at WWDC 2025.
But that’s not going to happen, at least unless Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, whose track record is almost impeccable, has got Apple’s AI WWDC plans completely wrong. With deep trust in Gurman’s reporting, I’ve had to rewire my expectations, and now I’ve got a different perspective: Not only have I not lost hope on Apple’s AI success, but I don’t think a lack of headline AI features would hinder iOS 26 at all.
Why’s that, you ask? Apple’s mediocre AI features are embarrassing compared to the competition. Well, it’s pretty obvious that as AI models evolve at a rapid pace, that while Apple wants to have its own headline LLM at some point, codenamed Knowledge internally, for now it has to accept that OpenAI, Google, and even Microsoft are doing AI better than anything Tim Cook and co can come up with.
Acceptance is key here, AI and specifically the day-to-day consumer AI that we’re starting to completely welcome into our lives, is all about the vessel and how you interact with it. Earlier this year, I wrote about Apple letting me down, and I highlighted Gemini’s Gmail integration on Android as an example of getting AI right.
After using flagship Android smartphones like the Samsung S25 and the Oppo Find N5, I’ve come to terms with the fact that the AI experience, regardless of operating system, is very similar; it’s all about the tools you choose to invest your energy in.
It’s all about the vessel
Take Gemini Live, for example, my go-to AI voice assistant. Since its full free release on iOS following Google I/O, it can not only be launched via my iPhone 16 Pro’s Action button, but I can also use screen sharing and live camera, just like the best Android smartphones.
And if you prefer ChatGPT, well, the experience is almost identical on Android compared to iOS, granting you access to the best AI chatbot currently on the market, and without the need for a premium subscription.
The true pioneers in the world of consumer AI right now aren’t the smartphone makers, they are the software developers creating cross-platform experiences that don’t discriminate between Android and iOS.
The gap between smartphones has never been smaller, the experience purely comes down to whichever ecosystem you’ve invested your life into. As an iPhone owner, I opt for Apple’s flagship product because I own a Mac, love Universal Clipboard, and have dedicated nearly 20 years of my life to being enveloped in all things Apple.
But truthfully, after switching to Android expecting to have my delusion towards Apple’s lack of innovation increase tenfold, I instead returned to iOS with a newfound appreciation for third-party applications and an understanding that AI excellence on iPhone doesn’t require Apple Intelligence.
Look past Apple Intelligence
Apple’s capacity to innovate in the AI space will, naturally, determine the company’s ability to keep pace with the competition. With Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s looming AI device, however, we could be heading in a completely different direction of mobile computing, one that sees smartphones left in the past. I’m not sold on that idea.
I think AI’s vessel will remain the iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxys of the world for the foreseeable future. And because of that, I’m content with AI on iPhone, because it’s a similar experience to everything else out there.
Apple’s AI success isn’t limited to Apple Intelligence, it’s limited to the company’s ability to understand that this AI renaissance is far bigger than the confines of Apple’s walled garden.
I believe Apple’s ability to keep up with the newly evolving technology will ultimately fall on its hardware and openness to allow users to experience whatever AI they choose to do so.
Maybe Apple Intelligence was never the solution after all? Maybe the only thing that matters is making the best smartphone on the market, so users experience AI through an iPhone, rather than whatever else is on offer.
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john-anthony.disotto@futurenet.com (John-Anthony Disotto)
