Apple Siri needs Google to survive
Apple is in 'early discussions' with Google to license its Gemini AI model for Siri . Apple, the tech giant that once defined innovation, is now willing to borrow Google's AI brain just to keep Siri running. After the shock, many people are just tired.
AirPower Template: Sell the dream, not the product
We've seen this before. Back in 2017, Apple announced AirPower, a magical charging mat that lets you place your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods anywhere on its surface and watch them charge in sync. Apple went beyond just revealing an idea: It actively positioned AirPower as a wireless charger worth waiting for. 'Don't buy anything else,' was the message. 'Ours is coming, and it's going to be the best ever.'
Competitors have already started selling functional wireless chargers. But Apple doesn't want to lose its initial market share. So instead of bundling the product with another product, Apple bundles the product with a promise.
People held off on buying other chargers, hoping Apple would come out with one soon. But that never happened. By 2019, AirPower was quietly canceled, with Apple admitting it couldn't fix the technical issues and overheating.
That's been Apple's strategy for the past decade: Delay the market with marketing until competitors lose momentum, then either show up late or not at all.
Apple Intelligence is a similar story.
Fast forward to 2024. AI explodes into the mainstream. ChatGPT rewires workflows. Google brings Gemini into its products. Microsoft integrates Copilot into Office. But Apple takes the stage at WWDC and says: Don't invest in others. Don't rush to build your AI workflow. Because Apple Intelligence is coming — and it's going to be better.
They promoted a vision of a smarter Siri that could handle multi-step tasks and integrate seamlessly into your Apple devices. The ad simply said 'Available now.'
Can't tell you how many people skipped the cheaper iPhone 14 or 15 because they wanted to "futureproof" the 16 Pro and get the full Apple Intelligence.
By March 2025, Apple had taken down the 'Available Now' video and admitted that Siri improvements had been delayed—again. The AI features weren't due out until 2026. A class-action lawsuit followed, accusing Apple of false advertising and unfair competition. Investors also sued, alleging securities fraud: Apple didn't have a working prototype when it promised Siri AI would boost iPhone 16 sales.
Apple Intelligence turns out to be just a marketing gimmick, just like AirPower.
The "intelligence" we really have
Of all the things Apple's AI could have done, what did we actually get? A ridiculous emoji and image generator. Try the Playground app for more than a minute and your $1,200 iPhone 16 Pro Max will start to get hot. That's the pinnacle of Apple AI: Unreliable doodles.
Meanwhile, the Siri upgrade is actually a step backwards. The old Siri, however clumsy, could look up information. The new Siri redirects requests to ChatGPT.
So after years of telling customers 'Don't use another AI, we're getting one,' Apple's AI turned out to be… a completely different AI. And now, less than a year later, they're quietly moving away from ChatGPT to talk to Google about Gemini. How insulting.
Unwilling to admit weaknesses
Apple could have chosen dignity. They could have said, 'We're not pursuing AI—we're going to focus on what we do best.' They could have opted out, as they did with netbooks, with Flash, even with 5G, until the technology was perfect. Instead, they sold the dream.
Apple said don't buy another charger and never ship AirPower. Apple said don't use other AIs and gave us ChatGPT built into Siri. And now they're whispering about Google Gemini like it's a seduction ploy.
If Apple simply admitted that it wasn't ready for AI, it would stand firm. Instead, it looks lost.
Today, Apple is more of a business than a revolutionist. It is optimized for profits, constraints, and lawsuits, not bold engineering. AirPower is the canary. Apple Intelligence is the fallout. And Siri is the butt of jokes.
The company that redefined PCs, phones, and tablets is now begging competitors to provide its AI models while hoping its customers won't see through the ruse. Unfortunately, users are disappointed.
