Apple’s Tim Cook and Craig Federighi on why Apple Intelligence has been delayed

Apple Intelligence is Apple’s solution for bringing iPhone users closer to the generative AI experience. When Apple first unveiled Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, everybody expected that it would roll out to users with the new iPhone 16 series, and iOS 18. However, that was not the case. This was an interesting move from Apple at a time when every tech company in 2024 was rushing to rollout AI features on their phones, in some form or the other. However, at the iPhone hardware event, Apple said that Apple Intelligence will roll out in late October. Now, rumours suggest that iOS 18.1 will release on October 28, along with Apple Intelligence features. But why the delay?
“This is a big lift and we feel like we want to get it right,” said Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Apple CEO Tim Cook also addressed the same question saying Apple is following its policy of “Not first, but best”, in a separate interview with the WSJ Magazine. “We’re perfectly fine with not being first. As it turns out, it takes a while to get it really great. It takes a lot of iteration. It takes worrying about every detail. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to do that. We would rather come out with that kind of product and that kind of contribution to people versus running to get something out first,” Cook added.
Federighi echoed the same philosophy in his interview. “You can put something out there and have it be a mess, but Apple’s point of view is that let’s try to get each piece of it right and ready”.
Currently, only a few Apple Intelligence are available for testing in the beta version, and even when the stable version of the tech rolls out, it will only be available for iPhone 16 series users, and iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users. Next week, Apple will only be rolling out some Apple Intelligence features to the eligible iPhones. The full set of features will rollout by 2025.
However, the arguments of most tech critics is that why did Apple advertise the feature with the iPhones, if Apple Intelligence wasn’t ready to roll out. Federighi has an answer to that. “We wanted customers to be excited about what’s to comeâ€æWe wanted to communicate what their phone could be and what’s coming on it in the next couple of months”.
Federighi says Apple did not want to create a product that is like a standalone chatbot, but something that is deeply integrated and personal. “And with that comes great deal of responsibility, and to do that, that Intelligence has to traffic in the information that you have stored on your device, and that means privacy is a tremendously important consideration”.
Essentially, Apple claims that it has been making Apple Intelligence responsibly and with privacy in mind. It does not want to be the first one to roll it out, but it wants to get the best version of it out. Meanwhile, critics indicate that while Apple Intelligence marketing has made big claims but when it rolls out, many customers will be left feeling underwhelmed.
Apple is introducing a range of new features powered by Apple Intelligence in its upcoming software updates, aimed at enhancing the user experience across writing, photo editing, and notifications.
Writing tools: A new writing assistant will help users proofread text for spelling, grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. It can also rewrite content for clarity and adjust the tone, offering options like Friendly, Professional, and Concise.
Photos app enhancements: Users can create personalised Memory Movies with a simple description, such as “My cat in 2024” or “Orlando in the summer.” Apple Intelligence will automatically select relevant photos and music, but users can refine the output through the Memory Mixes feature, choosing a specific mood or adding scenes and images.
Clean up tool: Apple introduces a Clean Up tool similar to Android’s Magic Eraser, allowing users to remove unwanted elements from photos without altering the main subject. This tool uses AI to seamlessly edit images.
New Siri UI: A redesigned Siri interface is arriving soon, featuring a new look where Siri lights up all the screen edges instead of just one area. While the new UI will launch this month, other Apple Intelligence capabilities for Siri are expected in future updates.
Priority notifications: Apple Intelligence will sort and prioritise iPhone notifications, placing the most important ones at the top in a new Priority Notifications section. It can summarise lengthy notifications or group multiple alerts, working seamlessly with Focus Modes to minimise distractions and ensure only relevant notifications come through.
Rollout timeline: The rollout begins in October with iOS 18.1, bringing key updates. In December, iOS 18.2 will introduce ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, and Image Playground. By early 2025, iOS 18.3 or 18.4 will launch with the enhanced Siri experience. The full suite of Apple Intelligence features should be available by the release of the iPhone SE 4.