Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
Apple just debuted its highly-anticipated iPhone 16, which will include long-awaited artificial intelligence features — but the delivery just didn't seem as flashy and exciting as its AI competitors' recent updates.
The hype around Apple Intelligence leading up to the Glowtime event was nearly deafening, but CEO Tim Cook and other Apple execs seemed to take a more laid-back approach when showing off the hardware on which it'll operate.
As expected, AI was the centerpiece of Monday afternoon's event. Apple spent much of the presentation emphasizing how the iPhone 16 was "built from the ground up to deliver Apple Intelligence."
For me, the most interesting features coming to Apple Intelligence are the Writing Tools, AI-generated emojis, and the camera's visual intelligence capabilities. Still, I wasn't left in awe by any of the demonstrations — especially considering the showy announcements from big AI players like OpenAI and Google, which featured super intelligent assistants with humanlike conversation skills.
But Apple doesn't have to stun consumers right away with a game-changing product — and maybe that's fine. With 1.5 billion iPhones worldwide, according to Wedbush Securities, the foundation of its empire is solid enough to build to the moon.
Since it's got the trust of those people, who are already in the Apple ecosystem, it maybe means that there's no rush to break boundaries in AI compared to making Apple users' lives easier — and compared to their less-dominant competitors.
All it has to do is what Apple already does — and better than pretty much everyone else: make our daily lives easier. And it's hard to demonstrate that in a 30-second skit showing off Apple Intelligence.
It's maybe also a question of optics. It's hard to show in an exciting way exactly how many times someone might need a ChatGPT-assisted Siri to look up something without having to take their phone out, open the app, and type their question.
That thought was echoed by Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster, who attended the event at Apple Park. He said the keynote video doesn't do the new iPhone 16 lineup justice.
"It's a new paradigm, and the paradigm will change how almost all humans will interact with tech," Munster said.
This paradigm shift, which Munster compared to the transition from flip phones to touchscreens, will be spurred by people testing these products in Apple stores.
And it looks like Apple knows that.
The tech giant reportedly began briefing its retail employees on all things Apple Intelligence weeks before the iPhone 16 lineup launch. It seems to me that Apple is gearing up to have consumers see its new AI tech for themselves before deciding to upgrade.
Turns out that slow and steady may actually be the best way to avoid being labeled boring.
