Despite enduring brand loyalty and high performance standards, the iPhone isn’t blazing the trail like it once was. The iPhone 16 is a worthy Apple device, but it’s built in an incremental rather than innovative way. Additionally, more than a month after its annual September event, where rollouts occur quickly after announcements, Apple has not released Apple Intelligence AI. Meanwhile, Google has been ahead of the curve in AI features and integration across its suite of products, including Android 15. Is Apple’s staggered release schedule a sign that the company is struggling to stay relevant, and is Android 15 an Apple killer?
Apple is late to the AI party
Apple launched the original iPhone at its first September event in 2007. Since then, the event has become a staple of the technology calendar, where new iPhones, Apple Watches, and other products are announced and launched almost immediately. Apple has released the latest iPhone in September for 15 of the past 17 years.
Two exceptions to the September launch event occurred in 2011 and 2020. In 2011, Apple announced that the release of the iPhone 4S would be delayed until October for unidentified reasons. However, this was the first iPhone released after Steve Jobs’ death, and there were rumors that there would be production issues. The launch of the 2020 iPhone 12 series was then postponed to October due to the coronavirus pandemic.
What happened to iPhone 16 and AI? The iPhone 16 series was announced on September 9, 2024, with iOS 18 released on the 16th and hardware available on the 20th. But iPhone enthusiasts still don’t have the company’s featured Apple Intelligence AI engine on their devices. Without AI, the iPhone 16 wouldn’t be a big deal, and it seems unlikely that the company would purposely separate its launch, at least if it was confident in its AI readiness.
Apple enthusiasts can expect iOS 18.1 to be released on October 28, 2024. The update will reportedly bring the first wave of AI features to iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models. The first release aims to match Google Assistant’s conversational capabilities in Siri, provide a translation solution similar to Google Live Translate, and establish the foundation for the company’s AI platform.
Android 15: Decoupling and incremental
When I first made my foray into Android smartphone ownership seven or eight years ago, great hardware was held back by Android’s clunky user interface, app store garage sales, and other limitations. Not so today. You can get great Android devices for every budget. These devices come with user-friendly and capable operating systems that give you a great start with AI. The iPhone is still the camera king, but Google’s Pixel devices and others also take great snapshots.
The Android 15 release process wasn’t without surprises. The OS was expected to debut on the Pixel 9, but was separated from the hardware launch. Additionally, as Taylor Kerns points out in his review of Android 15, this isn’t a huge leap forward, but an incremental improvement to a mature OS.
Nevertheless, Google has repeatedly integrated its Gemini app with third-party apps such as WhatsApp and Spotify, and Apple has the potential to do so as well. This doesn’t mean Apple doesn’t allow third-party apps to use Apple Intelligence, but the company has historically been slow when it comes to third-party integration. Having Gemini gives Google an advantage in the AI space. Given that the iPhone’s unique selling point is its superior user experience, Google has both the means and the ability to beat its rivals thanks to Gemini.
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How far behind is Apple?
In terms of AI evolution and integration, Apple is a few months behind Android at best. With so much at stake, it’s easy to guess why Apple is especially concerned about avoiding AI failures. Apple has a long history of taking a cautious approach to new technology. Apple doesn’t want to be the first. It wants to be the best. Perhaps someday Apple’s early wait-and-see attitude with AI will be seen as wise, but now it feels overdue.
