Apple's continued inability to get artificial intelligence right is creating serious risks for the tech giant's future, threatening everything from the iPhone's market dominance to its ambitious plans for robots and other innovative products.
According to Bloomberg's May 18 report, Apple's AI efforts have struggled despite bringing in top talent. In 2018, the company poached John Giannandrea from Google, where he had successfully deployed cutting-edge AI technology across products like Photos, Translate, and Gmail. However, Apple has failed to replicate this success, with Siri continuing to lag behind competitors' voice assistants in basic comprehension and commands.
The situation became so concerning that in March 2025, CEO Tim Cook reshuffled the executive team, removing Siri from Giannandrea's oversight and placing Mike Rockwell, the creator of Apple Vision Pro, in charge of the virtual assistant. Rockwell, who has reportedly been critical of Siri internally and has pitched ideas for making it more personalized, now reports directly to software chief Craig Federighi.
Apple's AI challenges extend beyond Siri. The company's Apple Intelligence initiative, which promised features like email rewriting and inbox summarization, has faced significant delays. In March, Siri executive Robby Walker described these delays as "ugly and embarrassing" during an all-hands meeting, acknowledging staff frustration over the public promotion of technology that wasn't ready.
These AI struggles come at a critical time as Apple explores new revenue streams, including personal robotics. The company is reportedly developing a tabletop robotic device with an iPad-like display mounted on a robotic arm, planned for launch in 2026 or 2027. This device would serve as a home command center, videoconferencing machine, and security monitoring tool, leveraging Apple Intelligence and Siri.
As competitors like Amazon and Google continue advancing their AI capabilities, Apple's ability to overcome these challenges will be crucial for maintaining its position in the tech ecosystem and successfully expanding into new product categories.