Top Stories: Apple Intelligence Siri Delay Sparks Concern, iOS 19 Redesign, and More

[MacRumors]

While Apple launched a bunch of new hardware this week, the biggest news was on the software side where a delay for some of the previously announced Apple Intelligence Siri features has led to scrutiny of Apple's actions and uneasiness among those at the company.

This week also saw revived rumors about a significant overhaul in design and functionality coming in iOS 19, while Apple's latest Mac and iPad models began making their way into reviewers' and consumers' hands, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

John Gruber Says 'Something is Rotten' at Apple Following Apple Intelligence Siri Delay

Last Friday, Apple issued a statement announcing that it is delaying certain Apple Intelligence features around Siri personalization that had originally been planned for an update to iOS 18, now noting that the features will arrive "in the coming year," which suggests they may not debut until iOS 19 or an even later update in the iOS 19 cycle.

In the wake of the news, Daring Fireball's John Gruber shared some strongly worded comments about the situation in a blog post titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino." Gruber outlined his belief that these more advanced Apple Intelligence features announced at WWDC 2024 amount to vaporware, with Apple still having shown no evidence that these actually exist in a functional form.

While Apple has in the past occasionally delayed or canceled software and hardware projects, Gruber is concerned that Apple has marketed its AI future around features that remain concept videos, threatening the company's credibility and perhaps representing deep-seated issues at Apple.

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Apple's annual developer conference is just three months away, and a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that the iOS 19 update that will be unveiled at WWDC 2025 will bring the biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 over a decade ago. macOS will see similar changes, with Apple looking to emphasize a more consistent cross-platform experience with simplified navigation and device control.

While details are light, it appears design changes are "loosely based" on visionOS for Apple Vision Pro, which utilizes a lot of depth and transparency, though the 2D interfaces of more traditional devices won't be able to fully adopt those qualities.

M4 MacBook Air Reviews Are Now Out, Plus Sky Blue Unboxing Videos

Following their introduction last week, Apple's new Mac and iPad models have officially launched, with the list including new MacBook Air and Mac Studio models as well as updated versions of the iPad Air and entry-level iPad.

Apple says the M4 MacBook Air, which comes in a new Sky Blue color option, is up to 23x faster than the final Intel-based model from 2020, though only in one specific test. Still, anyone upgrading from a machine several generations old should see significant speed improvements in a variety of day-to-day tasks. For a look at our early impressions of the new MacBook Air, be sure to check out our hands-on video.

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Rumors about the designs for the iPhone 17 family continue to firm up, with a new set of mockups once again showing off the expected designs.

While the standard iPhone 17 is expected to retain a very similar design to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to see a significant redesign with a much larger camera bump spanning the entire upper rear portion of the devices. The all-new ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" should see a similar but slimmer bump given it only has one rear camera compared to three on the Pro models.

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

The upcoming iOS 18.4 update will include two enhancements that will benefit some CarPlay users: a third row of app icons on certain larger infotainment displays and new EV routing to help Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners find charging stations that use the North American Charging Standard (NACS).

On a related front, iOS 18.4 will allow users in the European Union to set their own default navigation app such as Google Maps. The change, made in response to the EU's Digital Markets Act, will be a welcome one for users who prefer not to rely on Apple Maps for navigation.

Apple Introduced Its Most Controversial MacBook 10 Years Ago This Week

Apple announced the infamous 12-inch Retina MacBook a decade ago this week, an experimental new Mac that was as controversial as it was revolutionary.

Introduced by Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple's "Spring Forward" event on March 9, 2015, as a "reinvention" of the notebook, the MacBook was extremely controversial due to its under-powered performance, sin... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Top Stories: Apple Intelligence Siri Delay Sparks Concern, iOS 19 Redesign, and More

 

[pakupakuman]

1. Apple really needs to focus on their existing lineup and put some muscle into Siri.
2. In re: iPhone 17 mockups, I am no designer, but I am of the opinion that the flash and sensor are incorrectly placed, and holding the phone in landscape mode for pics will cause problems. "You're holding it wrong" redux?

 

[macmac30]

I can’t wait to see how this new Siri is going to work in my home. My kitchen has two new large HomePods that are paired. Then there is my 12 year old’s iPad, my wife’s iPad and sometimes my iPad sitting in the kitchen. In addition, my son’s iPhone and wife’s iPhone sit 10 feet down the hallway on a table. When we are in the kitchen and say “Siri”, we expect the HomePods to answer. But many times, if someone is using an iPad, their iPad tries to reply or turn its volume up or down and not the HomePod. And why in the h does Siri say “I’ll *speak* softer” when you ask her to turn the music volume down??? I see very troubled times ahead as they probably are re-writing this from the ground up (or at least need to!)

 

[q64ceo]

AI isn't the killer app for consumers that the tech media makes it out to be. Most buyers just don't care.

Apple can take their time if consumer surveys are to be believed.

 

[cSalmon]

Why criticize apple for holding back when they realize they must have a buggy piece of software? Sure seems the trend has been release letting the consumer work out the kinks. This seems like a welcome attitude towards rolling out new features

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I could personally care less about Apple Intelligence and hope that Apple quits treating it like it is THE major selling point for anything. The only thing I would like AI to do for me on my phone is to automatically prevent me from knowing someone sent me a SPAM text (politics or any marketing at all). I will be impressed with AI once SPAM of every sort is no longer an issue. AI is mainly Silicon Valley's (and other tech industries) latest snake oil in the search of the next big thing.

 

[Fuzzball84]

AI isn't the killer app for consumers that the tech media makes it out to be. Most buyers just don't care.

Apple can take their time if consumer surveys are to be believed.

Most people want innovative products. AI was only jumped on because innovation and tech advances have slowed in some ways which meant there hasn’t been a whole bunch of new to sell to consumers. A laptop from 2015 can do much of what an average Apple user needs to do today. The only struggle is maybe bloated websites but that’s another issue.

My only wish is maybe Apple was a bit more daring with some of its products. I’d love to see radical designs tried out for laptops and iPads in one of their products lines in that area.

I mean even the desktops need playing about with. Why can’t they dominant the micro PC market by releasing a Mac Micro. A credit card sized computer with M series chip, 16 GB RAM. Like the MeLe products.

That would be awesome.

Imagine Tim Cook taking out that product from his pocket, connecting it up to a single USB C type connector on a monitor. An entire desktop PC you can carry in your pocket. It would be the college students dream machine.

 

[Delivered]

AI isn't the killer app for consumers that the tech media makes it out to be. Most buyers just don't care.

Apple can take their time if consumer surveys are to be believed.

I agree. Broken or unreliable is worse. We can access Gemini and OpenAI perplexity on Apple devices. What are we missing out on? Siri even offers or can be directed to ask chatgpt.

Photo editing and generation also available via other apps including Gemini.

 

[AustinIllini]

I'm starting to believe the only way for Apple to catch up would be to buy OpenAI

 

[AustinIllini]

AI isn't the killer app for consumers that the tech media makes it out to be. Most buyers just don't care.

Apple can take their time if consumer surveys are to be believed.

Spoken like someone who hasn't used it properly.

 

[ZipZilla]

Everybody is focusing on the wrong thing.

Siri sucking has nothing to do with AI and has everything to do with Siri stuck in 2012. It's that bad. Does Apple use their own products?

 

[Ghengis LeMond]

AI isn't the killer app for consumers that the tech media makes it out to be. Most buyers just don't care.

Apple can take their time if consumer surveys are to be believed.

That’s what Kodak said when Kyocera released the first camera phone in 1999.

Somewhere there’s a ‘bookstore’ you’ve never heard of that’s toying around with an idea.

 

[switz]

I wonder what the fly on the wall heard in the meeting of the Board of Directors meeting discussing this AI issue?

The ages of many of them make me wonder if they stayed awake the whole time?

Are they aware enough to realize what a big deal this is that Apple went on national and international media to hype a non-existent product to sell model year 2024/2025 products, many of which were just a chip upgrade, using AI as the carrot?

How many law firms are looking to see how this incident could improve their cash flow?

I would suggest that Apple has sunk to higher than their knees in barn yard muck over this. There has been no comments from the top levels of management. Maybe they should get there heads out off the same muck and be honest with the millions of Apple customers who want to know the truth.

Saying they are years away from getting AI working would be a start and show some integrity and reality that their software teams were not up to the job despite the millions spent in that department.

Apple needs more than bean counters to run this technology company. It needs engineers of all types at the top to guide and kick back sides when needed and fire those not fired with enthusiasm.

 

[Ghengis LeMond]

I wonder what the fly on the wall heard in the meeting of the Board of Directors meeting discussing this AI issue?

The ages of many of them make me wonder if they stayed awake the whole time?

Are they aware enough to realize what a big deal this is that Apple went on national and international media to hype a non-existent product to sell model year 2024/2025 products, many of which were just a chip upgrade, using AI as the carrot?

How many law firms are looking to see how this incident could improve their cash flow?

I would suggest that Apple has sunk to higher than their knees in barn yard muck over this. There has been no comments from the top levels of management. Maybe they should get there heads out off the same muck and be honest with the millions of Apple customers who want to know the truth.

Saying they are years away from getting AI working would be a start and show some integrity and reality that their software teams were not up to the job despite the millions spent in that department.

Apple needs more than bean counters to run this technology company. It needs engineers of all types at the top to guide and kick back sides when needed and fire those not fired with enthusiasm.

It’s no accident that this announcement was made a week after the 2/25 board/shareholders meeting or it would have dominated the floor.

 

[PowerButton]

Why criticize apple for holding back when they realize they must have a buggy piece of software? Sure seems the trend has been release letting the consumer work out the kinks. This seems like a welcome attitude towards rolling out new features

The criticism stems from Apple heavily marketing the iPhone 16 around Apple Intelligence. If that hadn’t been the central selling point, the delay wouldn’t be nearly as much of an issue.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

For who? The common person or the tech pundits.

 

[PowerButton]

I'm starting to believe the only way for Apple to catch up would be to buy OpenAI

Why spend all that money on OpenAI [which isn’t open] when you can just do what DeepSeek did for $6 million.

 

[I7guy]

[…] Maybe they should get there heads out off the same muck and be honest with the millions of Apple customers who want to know the truth.

Saying they are years away from getting AI working would be a start and show some integrity and reality that their software teams were not up to the job despite the millions spent in that department.

[…]

You know Apple better than that. Would I like to know what went on behind the scenes? Sure. But I’m not going to be one of those types of critics on Macrumors. AI on phones right now, imo are parlor tricks. It’s going to take a while to see where this goes.

 

[KeithBN]

Why criticize apple for holding back when they realize they must have a buggy piece of software? Sure seems the trend has been release letting the consumer work out the kinks. This seems like a welcome attitude towards rolling out new features

The criticism isn’t of Apple for holding back when realising their software is buggy and massively feature-incomplete.

The criticism is of Apple for making grand announcements last year of features which were nothing more than vague ideas and concepts, claiming they were ready to release imminently, while knowing they were not even developed yet let alone debugged or ready.

And that criticism is wholly valid.

Let’s be realistic here.
It’s pretty obvious that the original plan was to release the full AI suite in iOS 19.
Which would have been pretty impressive - a fully featured, integrated, working AI built in at os-level.

Sadly, shareholders got fidgety with the OpenAI hype, and Apple directors panicked and told Apple to announce AI in iOS 18 even though it was nowhere near ready.

Which has resulted in this awful fiasco, and damaged Apple’s reputation, weakening confidence in the company.

A company which was hitherto well known for not announcing things until they were releasing them.

Except for AirPower and Apple Intelligence.

Let’s hope the executive floor take a good hard look at this whole debacle and learn from it.
I fear they won’t, however…

 

[fizzyfizz]

Why can’t they dominant the micro PC market by releasing a Mac Micro. A credit card sized computer with M series chip, 16 GB RAM. Like the MeLe products.

I love that idea!

 

[npmacuser5]

Marketing out of control.

 

[Morgenland]

Most people want innovative products. AI was only jumped on because innovation and tech advances have slowed in some ways which meant there hasn’t been a whole bunch of new to sell to consumers. A laptop from 2015 can do much of what an average Apple user needs to do today. The only struggle is maybe bloated websites but that’s another issue.

My only wish is maybe Apple was a bit more daring with some of its products. I’d love to see radical designs tried out for laptops and iPads in one of their products lines in that area.

I mean even the desktops need playing about with. Why can’t they dominant the micro PC market by releasing a Mac Micro. A credit card sized computer with M series chip, 16 GB RAM. Like the MeLe products.

That would be awesome.

Imagine Tim Cook taking out that product from his pocket, connecting it up to a single USB C type connector on a monitor. An entire desktop PC you can carry in your pocket. It would be the college students dream machine.

iMac... you don't need to connect your computer on a.... what??

 

[klasma]

Most people want innovative products.

I don’t think that is true. Most people want useful products that do what they’re supposed to and don’t cause them issues. And they also don’t want the UI they’ve gotten used to to change all the time.

 

[klasma]

AI on phones right now, imo are parlor tricks. It’s going to take a while to see where this goes.

I largely agree, for non-chat applications. The issue is that Apple advertised something different, and for some reason thought they could deliver, and maybe still think they can deliver with just some additional delay.

There seems just too much delusion going on, from apparently not realizing over many years how bad Siri really is, to thinking that “spacial computing” with a heavy VR headset would catch on.

 

[Margrave]

I find it interesting that one guy writes an article and people are thinking the sky is falling.
He’s most likely a great guy, but unless he’s working inside apple he’s another blogger with his own creative thinking, that may or may not have any relevance. Most reputable company's want the product they provide to be at its best, who rolls out something thats no going to work as advertised. Do it once and do it right. How can you miss a feature you’ve never had?