Why Is Apple Still Behind On AI? Expert Dissects Reasons Behind iPhone Maker Lagging Likes Of Microsoft And Amazon Despite Poaching Google's AI Chief

Seven years ago, Apple Inc. AAPL poached Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL-owned Google's AI chief John Giannandrea. However, the tech giant is still struggling to catch up in the artificial intelligence race.

What Happened: In 2018, Giannandrea's arrival at Apple was seen as a turning point, with executives hoping to revamp Siri and build a foundation for future AI products.

However, today the positive wave Giannandrea brought has dissipated as Apple continues to fall behind rivals like OpenAI, Microsoft Corporation MSFT and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Last year at the WWDC, Apple promised a major overhaul of its voice assistant. However, this has been repeatedly delayed with many of the promised features still not functioning properly.

Eddy Cue, a senior Apple executive, reportedly told AI could do what iPhone did to Nokia's business. Last month, during his testimony in a DOJ case against Alphabet, Cue said that iPhones could lose relevance over the next 10 years: "As crazy as that sounds," the report noted.

However, during Apple's earnings call in May, CEO Tim Cook defended the slow progress, saying Apple Intelligence features simply need more time to meet the company's quality standards.

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So, Why Is Apple Still Behind? As per the report, which cited multiple employees and people close to the company, much of the blame has been put on Giannandrea, who, according to the sources, did not fight for adequate funding.

Some also said that the ex-Google executive lacked a sense of urgency. But, Giannandrea reportedly thinks that the blame should be with marketing and advertising teams for hyping unfinished projects.

The acquisition of a lower number of GPUs than its competitors, its long-standing commitment to privacy and the tendency to perfect a feature before launching also hindered the company's progress in the AI race, the report said.

Why It's Important: Apple is now working on iOS 19, which will reported pack significant AI updates, including battery optimization and a virtual health coach.

Apple is also planning to split Apple Intelligence from Siri to escape the voice assistant's reputation, the report added, citing sources. The tech giant also reportedly intends to let Siri access the open web, just like OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Price Action: As per Benzinga Pro, Apple shares have declined by 1.58% in after-hours trading.

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