Opinion: Apple’s big event was all about AI, but don’t expect it anytime soon

Sejal Sharma is IE’s AI columnist, offering deep dives into the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact across industries. Her bi-monthly AI Logs column explores the latest trends, breakthroughs, and ethical dilemmas in AI, delivering expert analysis and fresh insights. To stay informed, subscribe to our AI Logs newsletter for exclusive content.

Apple held its annual product unveiling event last night, thanks to Tim Cook for diving straight into AI this time, unlike the WWDC in June, where it took over an hour to finally touch on all that “ Apple Intelligence ” talk.

It was clear from the start of the ‘It’s Glowtime’ event that this generation of the products unveiled—iPhone 16, Watch 10 series, and AirPods—will be all about AI—pretty much. Except AI isn’t here yet. Cook and his team have quite a balancing act ahead of them.

We will talk about the brand-new iPhone 16 first.

An iPhone designed for Apple Intelligence

Standing at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, Cook told us right off the bat that the iPhone 16 would be the first of the “iPhones designed from the ground up for Apple Intelligence.”

Yes, the lineup will have a new touch-sensitive camera button, ‘Camera Control,’ which will turn your smartphone into an AI sensor. And yes, it has the new A18 chip with an upgraded neural engine to handle big AI tasks.

But, as the event progressed, it became clear that Apple was merely trying to catch up in the generative AI game. Rivals like Google and Microsoft have already sprinted ahead and have rolled out most of the features Apple laid out for us last night.

Monday’s event felt like Apple was saying, “Hey, don’t count us out in AI just yet!”

For example, the ‘Camera Control’ has a visual intelligence feature that allows you to search for anything your camera sees on the go. So, if you’re chilling in the park and you see an adorable puppy, you can hit the camera control button, and it will tell you what breed it is or anything else you might want to know about the pup.

It has a bit of a “Google Gemini” vibe with the visual search stuff. Remember Google Lens? Or the more recent Google Pixel’s Circle to Search feature? Apple’s visual intelligence seems a tad bit familiar to both. And while the ‘point and identify’ feature sounds super useful, it’s one of those things that sometimes doesn’t work as smoothly as you’d hope in real life.

But let’s be real: “Apple Intelligence” is still early. The tech has been delayed over a few times, and many AI features will not be available until next year.

Right now, it’s mainly about summarizing messages and notifications, which is far from the flashy stuff its competitors are showing off. Apple’s big play here? Get people to buy newer devices because they need the iPhone 16 (or the A18 chip) to tap into these AI features.

Apple Intelligence will come out in October but will be in beta for US English users and other languages in 2025. However, early testing showed mixed results, as reported by The Washington Post .

The software often fabricates information, misinterprets content, and makes odd mistakes, like promoting scams or editing photos inaccurately. While some AI features are useful, many are unreliable, and the software’s impact on battery life is unclear, says the report.

Should we hold on to our $1,000 (or more) till the next cycle of software upgrades?

Watch and AirPods

Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10, its “biggest display and thinnest design” yet. It even allows you to play music and podcasts directly from its now much smaller speakers. But let’s be honest—do we want people blasting music from their wrists? Can we not make that a thing?

Under the hood, the new S10 chip with a four-core neural engine is designed for “intelligent features you use daily.” During the presentation, Apple leaned heavily into AI—without actually saying “AI.” Instead, it’s all about “machine learning” and “intelligence,” dancing around the buzzword while delivering the same promise.

Another big headline: The Series 10 can detect sleep apnea—a feature that’s been in the works for years but comes with many regulatory and technological hurdles. Smartwatch makers have been racing to perfect this since 2017, and Samsung beat Apple to the punch earlier this summer.

Moving on to AirPods, the product lineup looked muddled. Two AirPods 4 models, an evolving AirPods Pro with health capabilities, and a sidelined AirPods Max leave many wondering who each product is for.

The big news is that AirPods Pro 2 are getting a five-minute hearing test via iOS, claiming they could serve as clinical-grade hearing aids.

That is big. Apple will be leveraging the health data that Apple wearables have already collected. FDA clearance is expected soon, and it is a game-changer for users needing over-the-counter hearing aids.

Apple is holding out for those waiting on new Macs. Maybe we’ll see an October event for that?

Special emphasis on privacy?

Besides the big hardware reveals, many announcements made last night were expected. We’d heard about many things, like a new button, an AI chip, and a transparent background for the new iPhone. The first two turned out to be true. However, a see-through iPhone remains a far-off fantasy that doesn’t quite align with Apple’s design ethos. But then, you never know.

Last night felt like a polished recap of this year’s WWDC, especially regarding Apple Intelligence, which got 15 minutes of our attention. However, this time, there was a stronger focus on privacy, showcasing AI with “personal context” to deliver tailored experiences using a combination of on-device models and Apple’s “private cloud compute.”

There was some uproar over the lack of privacy, especially about the integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT with Siri (and rejoicing that the digital voice assistant might finally become useful). Apple tried to clear the air, saying they would keep things local and handle tasks right on your device.

Any data that has to go to the cloud will be encrypted and wiped clean afterward. They also announced yesterday that independent experts can audit the system to ensure data is never stored or shared. But there’s still a big question mark on how this will play out with third-party tools like OpenAI.

The event ran for over 1.5 hours, with Apple bigwigs walking through new details and features of the latest products. Interestingly, the Glowtime event was supposed to take place on September 10 but got moved up by a day for several reasons.

The first was that Apple wanted to avoid sharing the spotlight with the first US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Second, it was to avoid clashing with the European Commission’s September 10 announcement, which, hours ago, slapped a $14.3 billion fine on the company. The court backed the European Union’s 2016 decision that Ireland gave Apple illegal tax breaks.

Around the same time, the court confirmed a $2.6 billion fine against Google, adding to the list of EU competition cases against big tech. This Apple case, one of the most intense showdowns between the EU and a tech giant, started in 2016 when the EU accused Ireland of letting Apple dodge billions in taxes. The commission said Ireland let Apple pay just one percent in taxes on its European profits in 2003, dropping to a mere 0.005 percent by 2014.

From a symbol of creativity to monopolizing the market

Apple’s transformation from a scrappy disruptor in the tech world in the 1980s to a global behemoth in 2024 was built on empowering users and championing creativity. It has undoubtedly revolutionized personal computing, music, smartphones, and wearables.

Steve Jobs’ saying: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do,” is still etched into people’s minds. But does Jobs’ mantra reflect the spirit of Apple today?

From a user-focused company to a profit-driven powerhouse, Apple has drawn antitrust scrutiny in the last two decades, raising questions about whether Apple’s dominance stems more from innovation or from locking out competition.

Apple wields control over its ecosystem through the App Store, strict product guidelines, and fees dubbed the “Apple tax.” It has a tight grip on developers, has tense relationships with suppliers like Foxconn, and its strategy of developing in-house components leaves partners obsolete.

However, the controls and laws in place are slowly catching up with the company. Big names like Spotify and Goldman Sachs voiced growing frustration with Apple’s ecosystem, feeling more like vendors than partners. Even car manufacturers and Hollywood began pushing back against Apple’s tight grip.

The US Justice Department is now suing Apple , accusing it of wielding too much power and making it difficult for users to switch to non-Apple devices.

Even if Apple isn’t broken up, this lawsuit suggests the company might be losing its innovative edge, shifting from being a trailblazer to a guardian of its turf.