Apple Intelligence Faces Scrutiny One Year Post-Launch Amid Reports of Underperformance and Delayed Features

A recent social media post from prominent tech investor Ilya Sukhar has drawn attention to the ongoing discussions surrounding Apple's artificial intelligence initiative, Apple Intelligence. In a concise tweet, Sukhar, a partner at Matrix Partners, stated, "Never change Apple AI," a remark widely interpreted as a sarcastic commentary on the system's perceived shortcomings a year after its highly anticipated unveiling.

Apple Intelligence was introduced at WWDC 2024, positioned as a personal intelligence system deeply integrated into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The company emphasized its on-device processing capabilities, commitment to user privacy through "Private Cloud Compute," and a strategic partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT. This move was seen as Apple's significant entry into the generative AI race, aiming to provide features like enhanced writing tools, image generation, and a more contextually aware Siri.

However, a year into its rollout, Apple Intelligence has faced considerable criticism for allegedly failing to meet initial expectations. Reports from tech publications in early 2025 indicated that key features, particularly the promised "smarter Siri," had yet to fully materialize or were delayed. Mike Anguilano, writing on Medium in January 2025, bluntly stated, "Apple Intelligence Sucks," describing it as "marketing fodder with little to no real-world use cases" for the majority of users. He highlighted issues with Writing Tools producing confusing rewrites and notification summaries being "more comedic than useful."

The limited availability of Apple Intelligence, restricted to only the iPhone 15 Pro/Max and M-series Macs and iPads, has also sparked debate. This exclusivity has created a "haves and have-nots" scenario among Apple users, potentially pressurizing consumers to upgrade to newer, more expensive hardware to access the full suite of AI features. Critics argue that this approach deviates from Apple's historical software updates, which typically support a broader range of older devices.

Despite Apple's strong emphasis on privacy and on-device processing, the integration of ChatGPT also raised concerns within the tech community, including from figures like Elon Musk. These discussions underscore a broader industry sentiment that Apple, often a "second mover" in emerging tech trends, has been slow to innovate in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, relying instead on its brand and polish rather than pioneering new capabilities. Sukhar's tweet appears to encapsulate this prevailing sentiment, reflecting a perception that Apple's AI strategy has remained consistent in its cautious, and at times, underwhelming execution.