John Gruber Says 'Something is Rotten' at Apple

[TwoBytes]

It's not just Apple AI
Looks like the Swift Assist is nowhere to be seen too.
And CarPlay

Delays happen, and if Steve were around, he'd hold a short conference, own it, apologise, and double down on making things happen.

This isn't just one product. There are multiple failings. I'm sure internally the whole Apple Car thing was a costly flop and the vision pro I'm sure isn't meeting sales.

Apple's cooked

 

[jonnysods]

If Only Steve Jobs Were Still Here (OMG I can't believe I said that - I'll put a buck in the swear jar!) he might have held his ground and not got in to the "AI" snake oil business. Apple could always license ChatGPT or something if they got it wrong.

Don't get me wrong - the tech behind so-called "AI" (LLMs, diffusion, neural processing etc.) is important for the future but the current crop of consumer applications don't seem to be fit for anything more than a "bit of fun". It's like early attempts to play jerky, grainy video on 8-bit computers - definitely a sign of "things to come" but not, at the time, remotely useful. What's worrying is the current "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome where people are pushing ahead and using it anyway despite the fact that it is horribly unreliable and has the potential to cause all sorts of social problems.

It's telling that everybody - not just Apple - are playing the same game of rolling out AI "features" whether customers want them or not, making users jump through hoops to disable them, then stealthily re-enabling them with every update.

It also seems like current AI is a bit over-ambitious, and could be used better as "a second pair of eyes" rather than pretinding that it can do things that it can't.

I don't want AI to categorise mail if I can't rely on the result and might have an important personal message filed under "clutter" or something. Now, if AI could scan my existing *junk* folder and flag up any messages that might be false positives that would be something. Or, if I read a message, maybe AI could put a "Move to Invoices?" button to help me sort messages as I read them, that would be great... but, no, it has to pretend that it is clever enough to know better than me, because that looks more impressive.

I don't want AI to summarise email messages and tell me that my relative has been euthanised (when they actually had their dog put down). It's not worth the 10 seconds of stress. There have been some "summaries" of news stories (not for discussion in this thread) that had the potential to cause riots.

When I search, I want to find an original source, not a possibly-hallucinated AI summary. Now, if AI could help narrow down tricky searches when asked to, that would be grest - but understanding context isn't an LLM's strong suit...

If I write code then "dumb" templates and auto-complete are enough to cut down on typing boilerplate. The time-consuming part is not churning out code, but checking and testing it afterwards. Where's the point on getting AI to write code if you can't rely on it without painstakingly checking it line-by-line? Again - wake me up when AI can help with checking code that I write.

We've had automatic code-writing software and other "rapid application development" gimmicks since at least 1981 - but they fail to take account of the adage "the last 10% of the work takes 90% of the time" - they rip through the first 90% and leave you with something rough and inadequate which is a major pain to get finished - at worst needing to be re-written completely because the RAD system lacks support for some essential feature.

If I'm writing a document, banging words down is the easiest and quickest part - it's checking and refining that takes the time, which you have to do even more scrupulously with AI-written cobblers. Plus, of course, doing the research - where AI might be able to help with the seaching but can't be trusted to automate it. If you struggle with writing - well, heck, its the 2020s, record a podcast or a video of you presenting your ideas as interpretative dance or a rap number - that's what the media revolution was supposed to be about!

I'm 100% with you. The way I interact and use AI involves very specific instructions to get specific results. It has been helpful in many regards, but only when I interact with it directly.

It's not like it makes my life all that much faster, for say going through all our servers we manage and flagging warranties that are up for expriry 6 months out and then get a quote for a warranty extension from a vendor on my behalf - I still have to make the lists, I still have to look at the dates and set reminders. I don't see a lot of time saving features.

I 100% don't want it managing my email or even scanning it for that matter.

The biggest issue for me is how much worse off society will be for it, especially when AI starts learning from AI generated content, and we have this cheap dataset that drowns out real creativity and real content. Have you seen the AI generated 'photos' they sell at places like Adobe Stock? It's brutal.

 

[jntdroid]

Admittedly I haven't read through all 300+ comments in this thread, but I was actually glad to hear Apple delayed these features. Yes it's frustrating that they over-promised and under-delivered. But to me, delaying it shows a bit more "character" (for lack of a better word) than continuing to promise and pushing out something that's not complete. I'm no Apple apologist either, but with the momentum AI has right now (for better or worse), it actually made me think they have some guts to just come out and say "it's not ready, it has to be delayed" and ripping the band-aid off now than continuing to push the narrative. I definitely think Gruber is over-reacting here... but hey it gets lots of clicks!

 

[I7guy]

I’ll read it but I won’t see it through his lens. It’s all well to write an opinion, but I’m the buying public and put my $$$ where my mouth is.

 

[I7guy]

I’ve lost all faith in Apple. So much to the point that I am considering alternatives to their ecosystem in the future. Tim Cook has been the cancer in Apple slowly metastasizing until it’s now become much more viable.

Surgery is needed and cutting him and some others out of the company is needed to return Apple back to being the innovators that its customers have loyally paid to keep them as being.

Instead under Cook, it’s all be profit focused and I do not appreciate nor respect him as a CEO or what his company is doing. Now days, I do not recommend Apple to others and it’s sad because it used to be as much the opposite as possible.

You should do it and then let us know how it turns out.

 

[jonnysods]

I feel like comments along these lines really miss the reasons behind a lot of the criticism. I have no great desire to engage with any of the AI features they have promised, though I would certainly love to have a Siri that is capable of useful actions within my device instead of the glorified “Eliza” knock-off we’ve had all these years.

To my eyes, Apple was a company that prioritized my day-to-day and minute-to-minute user experience in their decision-making across all software and hardware layers. This is how they turned out products that felt, and really were objectively superior to their competition. I also saw them as acting with integrity. Their track record was not perfect (no one’s is) but I at least felt like they did not set out to deliberately deceive me.

Here we are now, thirty-something years after I bought my first Apple product, and their mobile devices feel like they are constantly fighting me. So many little things on a regular basis. And to top it off, they have been announcing features that not everyone in the company believes they can even deliver, and using those features as marketing tools to sell devices. And they are going as far as to force your hand by disregarding your choice to turn the features off. These actions are just plain sleazy, and some of us are very disappointed that Apple is the company engaging in this behavior.

So saying “Apple takes longer to make sure is right” is OK, and they did jot have to announce the feature when they did. But announcing the feature is imminent, selling devices “built for” the feature, THEN saying, “just kidding!” is not the same thing, and it is really not OK. The criticism is absolutely warranted.

I acknowledge what you're saying, I'm just coming from the place where people are frustrated about an issue like this, which isn't small, and definitely tells a story about Apple's over promising and under delivering. But then they say the whole thing stinks and Apple is horrible and Tim Cook is a disaster and innovation is dead, when there have been some staggering advancements under his leadership. Jobs made big mistakes too, MobileMe, Maps, the iPhone 4 cell reception, crappy drives in the first gen of MBAs, other first gen release teething issues.

I say go back to the 18-24 month release cycle of OS's, every year is an insane request of a development team to pull off.

 

[disneydadtx]

My guess is I'm not sure Apple outright "lied" to everyone, but perhaps they concluded during development that its simply not possible to have an AI assistant worth a damn without giving up some privacy (e.g. I want you do be my assistant but I cant tell you anything or give you any context. That goes against their core values so they're not able to proceed forward so now they're back-tracking.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Such hyperbole by this guy to get clicks. If they nail it, nobody will remember this in 10 years.

IF they nail it, of course.

 

[michaeljk]

So-called "AI" is important, but others are creating tools that Apple need not mimic (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini). "Apple Intelligence" seemed pretty silly at WWDC 2024, with just one exception: a supposedly better (hopefully for the first time actually useful) Siri. The fact that they were still calling it Siri worried me. I'd hoped it was a dumb marketing decision--that they were creating an entirely new product/service but using the old name due to name recognition or some other coding reason. I never believed that the existing version of Siri had any hope of actually becoming better. Siri is rotten to the core. it is fundamentally flawed. Even the guy who created it before it was purchased by Apple said unequivocally that it was not designed or built to do most of what Apple has tried to use it for. They bought a go-cart engine and dropped it into a Ferrari. Just stupid. Okay, maybe use it for a year or two as a stop-gap, but they should have been creating its replacement, in parallel, so they could drop it with something that had more power, more expandability, adaptability, scalability. But, they didn't. Clearly. Apple is not a step behind. They are at least 5 years behind (or more) Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, hell maybe even X.

 

[vkd]

Apple are simply gofers. Those who are mandating AI are NOT tech companies but another entity (governmental?) that is pushing them into it. Apple are simple fulfilling orders. The boss said "Get it done, get it out - now!" and they did what they could and are doing what they can. We could get into a whole anti-trust, spying, social manipulation so-called conspiracy theory here but not me.

 

[Gobeatty]

He’s a pundit and pundits pundit. Nothing to see here. Apple’s vision for focusing AI on use cases and locking down privacy are the pillars and Apple has stayed true to those.

 

[racer1441]

Apple is doing too much chasing the 'hip thing' and it's costing them quality and reliability.

AI is one example. The horrible nature of Siri for years is another. But also, Apple TV is a great example. They spend time and money on trying to be a media company. Yes, those people writing crappy TV shows won't be making IOS better but you can redirect resources to people that can.

And what do we get for these flights of fancy.

Product lines that are all over the place.
Software that is full of problems and glitches that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago.
Outdated designs (Hello folding iPad and iPhone! - only saving grace here is the Mac team seems to have their **** together).

Steve Jobs came back to Apple and gave them laser focus. He isn't coming back this time, so someone better figure it out.

 

[zemoleman]

Look no further than putting the power button of the M4 Mini on the BOTTOM of the machine to see things are a bit out of whack at the Mothership.

 

[Neil J. Squillante]

I disagree with the essay’s point about Playground. It’s the new Photobooth, designed to introduce people to GenAI images just as Photobooth was designed to showcase the front camera. Most AI image generators do not allow you to use people you know whereas Playground does. I know one person who used it to create her avatar in Contacts. Playground is very limited but it has potential.

 

[rehkram]

I blame the marketing- and investor relations departments. When companies are small, being accused of pushing "vaporware" is the kiss of death. As companies grow, vaporware becomes the cold asphalt patching material for temporarily filling potholes in a marketing plan.

It's entirely predictable, and therefore normal. Jumping up and down screaming words like "rotten" is just silly, in my humble opinion.

 

[sunapple]

I blame the marketing- and investor relations departments. When companies are small, being accused of pushing "vaporware" is the kiss of death. As companies grow, vaporware becomes the cold asphalt patching material for temporarily filling potholes in a marketing plan.

It's entirely predictable, and therefore normal.

AI vaporware really seems to be the new normal. It's sad.

 

[loby]

Hmm, weird take. I think a lot of big tech companies are quietly in a little shock as the realization that AI is a bust feature begins to set in. Microsoft’s CEO said as much recently.

Combine the stalled positive impact of AI with the lack of Siri power users, and I’m guessing Apple is having second thoughts. Sucks for Apple, but doesn’t really upset me as a customer.

Agree, “Yes” A.I. may have benefits now and the future is set for it to become technology’s “next”, but I am ok with just gradual implementations, so Apple gets it right instead of trying to keep up with the wave. In surfing, waiting for your wave might be a better option for Apple as it seemed they were blind to the rapid focus and development, so they had to talk a lot and promises that were vain.

They might have seen now it is a big animal they have to wrestle with and may not be able to handle it currently. It like everyone in business, if you don’t perform,, then your competitor takes the ball and you loose.

Personally, I don’t mind the more powerful Mac’s and can wait for A.I. I might be in the minority on this, but it doesn’t bother me they don’t Add A.I. features that control my workflow.

 

[TheColtr]

this is good. Apple needs to feel some pressure to course correct. I love seeing exciting stuff at WWDC. But they’ve been doing this far too often recently, showing a video and then not fully delivering on the promises. Remember the Vision Pro video where the ceiling of the bedroom became a sky? That never materialized. I get that stuff is hard, and I love the dream and imagination. But don’t show me something you cannot 100% deliver within 3-6 months.

 

[Seamaster]

Such hyperbole by this guy to get clicks. If they nail it, nobody will remember this in 10 years. IF they nail it, of course.

They said the same thing about Siri. It’s no better today than it was on my 4S.

 

[attohs]

If you go to the Apple Store front page, they have big rectangles that say "MacBook Air", "iPad Air", and "iPhone 16 Pro" and under those headers it says, "Apple Intelligence" with a triangle signifying there is small print. Then you scroll down to the bottom of the page to find that triangle, and there is no small print. Odd.

 

[rtr1985]

Seems that AI progressed much faster than expected. So whatever was to be released would seem gimmicky in comparison. Still lame whatever the situation may be.

 

[bondr006]

While I get that people are genuinely upset and feel lied to, I haven’t seen one story of someone trying to return a phone they bought six months ago because it does not have the advertised features. Where are the switcher stories where they fled to Android? I would think the media would be all over this stuff. Are people really mad or just disappointed and sad?

I think most people are still unaware of the situation, it could gain traction in the near future.

A simple Google search does show that people are returning their iPhone 16's because of Apple Intelligence. I have also seen it all over reddit.

 

[KPOM]

Yeah, as we all know it is illegal to boycott X.

He's missing out on exposure as well as perspectives of the broader community. BlueSky and Mastodon are mostly full of people who always agree with him.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Are we witnessing the end of the years-long tradition of Gruber interviewing Apple executives at WWDC?

Nah - He'll end up boosting his "credibility" here by having been critical, yet ready to pounce back to HYPER optimistic and in the bag for Apple at the slightest hint of directional change.

For Apple, he'll end up being a useful tool to make it look like they aren't shying away from "tough reporting" and criticism.

When marketing and messaging are involved, get as cynical as you can ... and even that isn't enough to reflect the usual reality of what's going on behind the scenes.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Admittedly I haven't read through all 300+ comments in this thread, but I was actually glad to hear Apple delayed these features. Yes it's frustrating that they over-promised and under-delivered. But to me, delaying it shows a bit more "character" (for lack of a better word) than continuing to promise and pushing out something that's not complete. I'm no Apple apologist either, but with the momentum AI has right now (for better or worse), it actually made me think they have some guts to just come out and say "it's not ready, it has to be delayed" and ripping the band-aid off now than continuing to push the narrative. I definitely think Gruber is over-reacting here... but hey it gets lots of clicks!

He'd be over-reacting if Apple's competitors didn't have perfectly workable AIs already deployed.

I am a programmer, and write code all day long. I can ask Microsoft's Co-pilot or their Github agent for help, and Google has an AI baked right into Android Studio that will take my project context into account, and even offer to make the changes for me. It isn't always correct, it requires a bit of hand holding, but it's like having a junior developer sitting next to me 24/7.

The tech is here.

And Apple promised it would be on my devices.

Except, Apple hasn't delivered, at all.

I upgraded to an M4 MBP in a major part due to the promised AI. We're half way through the M4 cycle, and it's nowhere to be found. If Apple releases an M5 chip before AI, I'll have basically bought a MBP a year early based on false advertising, and have every right to be pissed.

EDIT: If Tim Apple had got on stage and said "We've been experimenting with this new 'AI' thing, and it seems pretty cool. Over the course of the next two years, we are going to start rolling out AI features for the iPhone 15 Pro, and all 16 series iPhones. By Fall 2026 when we've completed our internal AI roadmap we estimate 80% of active iPhone users will have access to some form of the AI features, and we think you're gonna love it", that would have gone over really well, without over promising. It's called setting expectations, and Apple really dropped the ball this time.