When we think of Apple, we think of a company that can do no wrong. One that is almost always better. But lately, I’ve been having second thoughts about it. There is one area where Apple, though making all the right steps – for example, AI and privacy – is lagging behind. And this area is Gen AI i.e. Apple Intelligence.

Although Apple Intelligence was first detailed over the summer to users, the tech giant unlocked the first wave of AI in October, including features like writing tools, image clean-up tools, and memory for iPhone and Mac users . This was just the beginning. More features are coming soon. Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, Genmoji, and other features will reach users with iOS 18.2 in the coming weeks. Still, I can’t help but feel that Apple is coming a little late to the party, at least when we compare it to companies like Google and Samsung.

Apple AI features Timeline

After the arrival of iPhone 16 series, Apple started rolling out Apple Intelligence. The first set of features was released in October. But this phase only included a handful of AI-powered features.

The next step for Apple Intelligence, scheduled for December, will come with iOS 18.2 with the most anticipated – ChatGPT integration, Image Playground and Genmoji. In other words, it’s finally going to bring a heavy dose of Gen AI to iPhone and Mac users, as is available on some other phones and computers.

The rollout will continue even after December. A recent report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman mentions that Apple will partner with Google to integrate Gemini into the iPhone, like ChatGPT. Although it is not expected to appear until 2025, plans are underway.

Gurman wrote, “Other future improvements include integration with Google Gemini. But Apple will probably give OpenAI a nice window of exclusivity, especially since it isn’t paying for the technology at all. So, I’m looking forward to the Gemini chatbot.” “I wouldn’t expect iOS to arrive until next year.”

In short, the future AI line-up by Apple looks like this: ChatGPT in December, Advanced Siri and Visual Intelligence in 2025, and Gemini after 2025. While this paints a rosy picture, it’s safe to say that Apple is taking small steps in the race to get faster.

AI features by other companies

Why is it a fast race? Let’s take a look at how the Google Pixel 9 series pulls off AI features that haven’t come to iPhones yet.

Launched in August 2024, the Google Pixel 9 series comes with the Gemini zodiac sign at the center. From cameras to personal assistants, it offers a ton of AI features that are available right now and work flawlessly. For example, the Pixel 9 series has a Pixel Studio which is the equivalent of Image Playground in iPhones. With a UI optimized for easy gestures, style changes, and editing, Pixel Studio aims to provide users with a way to bring their ideas to canvas quickly and easily. Image Playground offers similar features, but its stable version is yet to arrive.

Similarly, earlier this year, Samsung released the Galaxy S24 with Circle to Search AI feature. And Apple followed about a year later with Visual Intelligence, which is exclusive to a limited number of models of iPhones. More importantly, this is also a feature that is coming soon and isn’t here yet.

The bigger picture here is that while Apple is building and planning a lot, a lot of it is still in the “coming soon” stage. And this is very clear. So much so that even Apple CEO Tim Cook has accepted it.

Cook recently highlighted that Apple’s focus is now on quality and user experience rather than speed of rollout. He said that Apple does not need to be the first in artificial intelligence, it just needs to be the best. The Wall Street Journal emphasized his four words for AI, – “Not the first, but the best.”

An AI area where Apple is leading

However, the best part is that this will only become clear in the coming weeks and months as the new AI features reach Apple users. However there is one area where Apple Intelligence is really better than the rest – privacy.

Unlike other privacy tools created by Google, Open AI, Microsoft, and others, Apple is emphasizing a strong focus on privacy. And it appears that Apple Intelligence tools are going to include better privacy protections. By its nature, AI is tricky when it comes to privacy because data always needs to be transferred from the phone or computer to the AI ​​server. But Apple seems to have solved the issue in a way that Google and others haven’t, or perhaps won’t want to.

Apple has created what it calls “private cloud compute” that uses custom hardware and software to create a mechanism where data sharing between the user and the AI ​​system is completely private, even without Apple. Not accessible or even visible to. The company says, “With sophisticated technologies to meet our requirements of stateless computation, enforceable guarantees, no privileged access, non-targetability, and verifiable transparency, we believe that private cloud compute Nothing short of the world’s leading security architecture for cloud AI compute.”

Having said that, what good is using a sophisticated system if users are not finding the features they actually find useful and sophisticated? This is a challenge for Apple. It certainly has the right plans, it has taken good steps so far – albeit slowly – but it probably needs to move faster. Because other people are already ahead.