Apple’s position in the AI revolution is nothing short of baffling. Here’s a company with virtually unlimited resources, world-class engineering talent, and a track record of defining how humans interact with technology - yet they’ve been comprehensively outmanoeuvred by the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic in what may be the most important technological shift since the smartphone.
The parallels to Nokia’s downfall are striking and ominous. Just as Nokia optimised for better cameras and more durable hardware whilst Apple and Google reimagined what a phone could be, Apple seems trapped in thinking about AI as merely “making Siri better” rather than recognising that conversational AI represents a fundamental shift in how we’ll interact with computers. Their recent capitulation, integrating ChatGPT into iOS rather than building their own capable assistant feels like a remarkable admission of defeat from a company that typically insists on controlling every aspect of the user experience.
What makes this failure particularly galling is that Apple had all the right pieces. They pioneered consumer Neural Engine processors, have championed on-device processing for privacy, and control an integrated ecosystem that should have been perfect for deploying an intelligent assistant. The blueprint was literally handed to them - everyone wanted Jarvis from Iron Man, and Apple was uniquely positioned to build it. Instead, they’ve spent over a decade delivering a glorified timer that struggles with basic requests whilst their competitors have built genuinely useful AI assistants.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. If conversational AI becomes the primary interface for computing which it increasingly looks like it will, Apple risks being relegated to expensive hardware that people primarily use to access other companies’ AI services. Their entire business model of ecosystem lock in and taking a cut of digital transactions could crumble if the valuable interactions move to AI platforms they don’t control. Unlike their usual strategy of being fashionably late to market, the AI transition is happening so rapidly that by the time Apple delivers a competitive offering, users may have already formed lasting relationships with rival AI assistants.
It’s a bit of a cautionary tale about the dangers of resting on one’s laurels and potentially Apple’s “Nokia moment” in the making.
The parallels to Nokia’s downfall are striking and ominous. Just as Nokia optimised for better cameras and more durable hardware whilst Apple and Google reimagined what a phone could be, Apple seems trapped in thinking about AI as merely “making Siri better” rather than recognising that conversational AI represents a fundamental shift in how we’ll interact with computers. Their recent capitulation, integrating ChatGPT into iOS rather than building their own capable assistant feels like a remarkable admission of defeat from a company that typically insists on controlling every aspect of the user experience.
What makes this failure particularly galling is that Apple had all the right pieces. They pioneered consumer Neural Engine processors, have championed on-device processing for privacy, and control an integrated ecosystem that should have been perfect for deploying an intelligent assistant. The blueprint was literally handed to them - everyone wanted Jarvis from Iron Man, and Apple was uniquely positioned to build it. Instead, they’ve spent over a decade delivering a glorified timer that struggles with basic requests whilst their competitors have built genuinely useful AI assistants.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. If conversational AI becomes the primary interface for computing which it increasingly looks like it will, Apple risks being relegated to expensive hardware that people primarily use to access other companies’ AI services. Their entire business model of ecosystem lock in and taking a cut of digital transactions could crumble if the valuable interactions move to AI platforms they don’t control. Unlike their usual strategy of being fashionably late to market, the AI transition is happening so rapidly that by the time Apple delivers a competitive offering, users may have already formed lasting relationships with rival AI assistants.
It’s a bit of a cautionary tale about the dangers of resting on one’s laurels and potentially Apple’s “Nokia moment” in the making.
