Comment by JumpCrisscross
3 days ago
> if there wasn’t a forcing function then “Apple Picks Gemini to Power Siri” wouldn’t be the headline
A pair four-trillion dollar companies striking a deal in the hottest technology space since the internet getting headline treatment is not evidence of a forcing function.
Them having bolted on ChatGPT in the ugly way they did is evidence though.
Their naff image generation tool (Playground) is further evidence.
Apple are definitely panicking. And they should be too.
> Them having bolted on ChatGPT in the ugly way they did is evidence though
That's evidence they forced themselves. Not that there was a forcing function. That's the whole point of the top comment. (Mine.) They rushed where they didn't have to. And I still don't think they need to rush.
That’s some politician-grade logic you’ve got there:
A company can be forced into a decision because they’re scared of losing market share, but that doesn’t count as them being forced because they chose they wanted to stay in business.
The crux of the problem is that people use Gemini on Android. In fact Google have been doubling down on the AI features for years. And in a range of guise’s from camera enhancing vision models to smart personal assistants via Gemini.
Just as Apple heavily promoted Siri back when it was pioneering.
But Siri has stagnated for years. It’s basically the Internet Explorer 5 of the assistant domain. And the competition is so far ahead in capabilities that people are going to start questioning the innovation happening at Apple. In fact people already are.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Liquid Glass misfire was a desperate attempt to make their technology feel futuristic again.
The fact is, Siri sucks. I almost never use it now. Apple knows this. We know it. Consumers know it. Apple know that they have to urgently fix it.
1 reply →
Apple provides high-value services like iMessage, iCloud, iPhotos, Apple Maps, Apple Health etc. They hold mountains of people’s personal data and interactions. These services provide the personalized experiences that allows Apple’s hardware to be so sticky.
These services are threatened by the emerging competitive landscape. Apple is panicking, and there is a forcing function, because their users are spending more and more time with LLMs having the most personal experiences they’ve ever had with any software, and Apple isn’t getting a piece of that pie. They’re in a very high risk position because this is the heart of their brand and as data is slowly siphoned away into apps and services that are providing the experiences their users are growing to expect, that moat and stickiness is eroding.
That said, this precisely why it’s taken so long. While Apple is desperate, they are completely unwilling to disrespect their users trust and mishandle their personal data or compromise their privacy.
Not enough things are referred to as naff these days, which is funny because there's so much naff shit knocking around.
I mean, maybe if the headline was “For no particular reason whatsoever, under absolutely no pressure from their millions of customers to deliver on the promises they paid for nearly two years ago, Apple picks Gemini to Power Siri”
Or maybe you’re arguing that Apple never did intend to commit to those promises and it was all intentional and part of a well orchestrated plan from the outset? Seems like an odd strategy
> if the headline was “For no particular reason whatsoever, under absolutely no pressure from their millions of customers to deliver on the promises they paid for nearly two years ago, Apple picks Gemini to Power Siri”
Which is not how headlines work.
You may have an argument that Apple is under pressure. But your headline argument is bananas.
> maybe you’re arguing that Apple never did intend to commit to those promises
Where did you get that?
The attitude I called "fucked up" is precisely rushing to make promises and then meet them. Apple's sales don't suggest customers are putting material pressure on Cupertino. Apple's share price doesn't suggest investors are panicking. The promises have already been broken. If Apple is pushing something out, again, because they feel they have to on the basis of those promises, it's–again-a fuckup.
> Which is not how headlines work
That’s the joke. I assure you they are panicking.