Apple's AI Strategy: Steady Progress or Falling Behind?

In 2024, Apple launched an AI strategy called "Apple Intelligence" at the global developer conference ( WWDC ), which has sparked widespread attention and anticipation in the industry. However, a year has passed, and Apple’s performance in AI has been heavily criticized, with many believing that the company has made too many promises but delivered too little.

Critics point out that Apple is clearly lagging behind in the AI field, with limited cloud service capabilities and an overemphasis on device-side processing. Compared to the leading positions of companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft in foundational AI research and the development of large language models (LLM), Apple appears to be moving slowly. Due to the failure to build a strong AI platform in the early stages, Apple has had to rely on external partnerships to advance its AI strategy, such as integrating ChatGPT into Siri.

Apple's insistence on running AI models on devices has also been controversial. While this approach benefits user privacy and improves processing speed, it significantly limits the scale and complexity of AI capabilities compared to cloud-based systems. Some developers and analysts believe that this practice may hinder Apple's ability to deliver a truly revolutionary AI experience.

At the WWDC conference in early June this year, Apple publicly acknowledged that several features promised for release in 2024 have been delayed. Company executives stated that they are still working to enhance Siri's level of personalization, but this work will take longer to meet the expected high-quality standards.

Nevertheless, Apple is steadily advancing its AI strategy. The company has integrated AI capabilities into several core applications, including Photos, Mail, Messages, FaceTime, Notes, and Shortcuts. These applications now feature AI-driven functionalities such as intelligent search, automatic categorization, and real-time translation, greatly enhancing the user experience.

It is worth noting that Apple also allows third-party applications to utilize its built-in AI models, injecting AI vitality into the entire ecosystem. While some criticize this device-side AI approach for limiting the scale and complexity of functionalities, there are also viewpoints arguing that this strategy aligns with Apple's consistent emphasis on user privacy.

Some analysts suggest that Apple should acquire a mature LLM company to accelerate its AI development, but this possibility seems unlikely. Instead, Apple is leveraging its existing LLM partnerships while secretly developing its own LLM, with the aim of gaining greater control and privacy protection in the future.

Industry insiders have pointed out that although Apple is not a leader in the AI field, this does not mean there is a crisis. They believe that even with more AI features integrated into the Android system, user satisfaction has not significantly improved. This indicates that for the average user, having the latest AI features is not a decisive factor affecting their evaluation of the device.

As a long-term observer of Apple, we can see that the company has been moving at its own pace. Despite the constant criticism from the outside, Apple’s approach to advancing its AI strategy has not been significantly affected. The company’s tradition of innovating products and services, combined with its steady strategy of gradually introducing AI features into core applications, lays the foundation for further innovation in the future.

As time goes on, whether Apple's AI strategy can strike a balance between protecting user privacy and providing advanced features will become a focal point of industry attention. Regardless, Apple's exploration in the AI field has only just begun, and there is still immense room for innovation and potential for us to observe in the future.