Is Apple making a mistake?

Amid rumors of developing an AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT, Apple is likely only releasing a new version of Siri internally for testing.

Apple Intelligence advertisement at the Apple Store. Photo: Bloomberg .

Apple is still struggling in the AI ​​race. After a disappointing year, the company is trying to catch up with its rivals with numerous upgrades to its Siri assistant, and even developing its own chatbot.

Based on rumors, Apple's chatbot may only be released internally for testing. In a Bloomberg Power On report, analyst Mark Gurman highlighted that this could be a mistake by Apple in its new strategy.

Apple's mistake

Last year, the launch of Apple Intelligence was not very successful. While it received some praise from loyal fans, analysts emphasized that Apple had fallen behind.

Most reviews indicate that Apple Intelligence is unimpressive, with many features performing worse than competitors. This significantly impacts Apple, a company that consistently positions itself as a market leader.

According to Gurman, Apple's mistake stems from its approach of integrating AI into core iPhone features, rather than providing an experience similar to ChatGPT.

In June 2024, Apple garnered attention by reviving the "for the rest of us" slogan from the Macintosh era, positioning AI generation as a toolset. Users can categorize emails, create icons with Genmoji, or use Writing Tools to edit and summarize text.

"Apple may be right in believing that the future of AI lies in a suite of integrated tools. However, their constant assertion that users won't care about chatbots is a huge mistake," Gurman emphasized.

Icons of some popular AI chatbots. Photo: Bloomberg .

In fact, Apple may have recognized the problem when integrating ChatGPT into Writing Tools and Siri. However, this integration is rather superficial and lacks interactivity. In other words, users simply open ChatGPT instead of calling it through Siri.

The Bloomberg writer emphasized that if a chatbot using its own AI model had been launched last year, it would have been a disaster similar to what happened with Apple Maps in 2012.

After a year, Apple seems to have admitted its mistake. To deliver the best AI generative experience, the company needs to develop features similar to ChatGPT, with the ability to extract information from the internet.

In August, Apple reportedly established the Answers, Knowledge and Information team to develop a product that aggregates general knowledge, a strength of current AI chatbots.

Which decision was the right one?

In September, Gurman revealed that Apple was developing an AI-based search engine, bringing the company closer to an experience similar to ChatGPT or Perplexity.

In fact, Apple's new strategy still revolves around an improved version of Siri, internally codenamed Project Linwood. Expected to launch as early as March 2026, Siri will be completely transformed by combining an external AI model (possibly Google Gemini) with technology developed by Apple's Foundation Models team.

Beyond web search, Project Linwood includes features Apple promised last year, including leveraging device and screen data to power Siri, allowing for full voice control of the iPhone.

To test the new technology, Gurman revealed that Apple has developed an internal chatbot, codenamed Veritas, to send queries without requiring voice interaction.

The application allows users to submit requests, receive information, and chat back and forth, similar to ChatGPT, in addition to some in-app tasks such as photo editing and accessing personal information.

This is an advertisement showcasing a feature of the new Siri version. Photo: YouTube .

In fact, Apple has previously experimented with chatbot-like tools, but they only worked on the web instead of being standalone apps. However, Gurman's sources suggest that Apple has no plans to release chatbots to the general public, instead using them only to test the effectiveness of the new Siri.

"This could be a mistake on Apple's part. While improvements to Siri may close the gap with competitors, services like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini demonstrate that users still want a tailored chatbot experience," the Bloomberg writer emphasized.

Despite operating as chatbots, ChatGPT and Gemini can still support various tasks such as information gathering, research, and image creation.

"After years of complaints about Siri and upgrade delays, Apple's groundbreaking AI technologies could be overshadowed if they are only integrated with existing platforms."

"Overall, releasing chatbots as standalone applications could attract more interest," Gurman noted.

Source: https://znews.vn/apple-lieu-co-sai-lam-post1589347.html