1 week Ago By John Nieves
Apple’s attempts to integrate AI into its iPhones have been a disaster. Anyone with an iPhone who has installed Google Gemini can see how far behind Apple lags when it comes to AI and its integration into its devices, especially with Siri. Apple should be embarrassed.
The gap between Gemini and Siri is shocking. Apple has no answer for Gemini Live, a feature that lets you have natural, free-flowing conversations with your phone. You should try it—I’ve used it a few times to brainstorm ideas or learn about topics I know nothing about.
It’s like having a subject matter expert right in your pocket.Meanwhile, Siri struggles to handle anything beyond simple commands like “call Mom” or “what’s the weather tomorrow?” For anything more complex, it relies on ChatGPT, which you have to enable separately in iOS before you can even use it.Siri’s biggest flaw? It can’t generate text or images for you, while Gemini can.
The only advantage Siri has over Gemini is that it works without an internet connection, but that’s hardly a big deal when you consider how much less capable it is compared to Gemini.So, how did this happen? How did Apple let their biggest OS rival leapfrog them in the AI race, especially since they’ve been in the game since 2011? The answer: bad management.According to The Information, Siri’s leadership initially planned to use two language models (LLMs): a small one, dubbed “Mini Mouse,” to handle on-device requests, and a larger one, called “Mighty Mouse,” to manage bigger requests requiring a cloud connection.
Unfortunately, the team pivoted to building a single language model—but not before wasting precious time and resources developing the two LLMs. That misstep was just the tip of the iceberg. Poor leadership within the Siri team, an overly relaxed culture, and a lack of ambition or willingness to take risks when designing future versions of Siri only made matters worse.
It didn’t help that Apple’s AI chief, John Giannandrea, reportedly didn’t believe AI chatbots like ChatGPT offered much value to users, further pushing Apple behind the curve.READ MORE:Siri’s Apple Intelligence Features are Getting Delayed FurtherApple’s AI shortcomings were laid bare during last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Siri demo debacle. According to BGR, the AI capabilities Apple showcased were largely conceptual, based on prototypes rather than a working product.
Some of the features weren’t even running on an iPhone—they were polished videos designed to trick attendees and viewers into thinking Apple was on par with Google and Android in the AI race.The bottom line? If you want a smarter AI assistant on your phone, ditch Siri and install Google Gemini instead..
