Summary of Key Points
The 2026 WWDC marked Steve Jobs' last keynote as Apple's CEO. During this event, Apple unveiled the long-awaited new Siri, restructured its Apple Intelligence platform, and integrated it with Google Gemini in an attempt to catch up on the AI progress made by other companies over the past two years. However, the stock market responded tepidly, with the company's stock price rising and then falling, reflecting investors' shift from expectation to disappointment. The central argument of the article is that Apple's issues are not merely related to its lagging AI technology; they lie in its product philosophy of "making choices for users and controlling their experiences" over the past two decades, which fundamentally conflicts with the open-ended intentions and autonomous tasking characteristics of the AI era. Although Apple has made a strategic compromise by integrating Gemini, it still faces new competition from model companies like OpenAI. This launch represents a starting point, not an endpoint, for Apple's true entry into the AI age.
Detailed Analysis
1. Apple's Success Over the Past Two Decades: Simplifying Complexity
Apple's rise in market value from $350 billion to $4 trillion is not due to its cutting-edge technology but rather its ability to simplify tasks for users. For example, with the first-generation iPhone, users didn't need to learn coding or understand the operating system; they could simply use it by clicking on the buttons designed by Apple. The App Store set the boundaries for app downloads, and products like the Apple Watch and AirPods operated according to Apple's rules. Steve Jobs took this approach to its extreme: standardizing the supply chain and unifying software interfaces, ensuring that 2.5 billion devices all ran smoothly on a framework designed by Apple, resulting in higher profit margins from service businesses than from hardware sales. In essence, Apple acted as the rule-maker, offering users a choiceless path to follow.
2. The Contradiction with AI
In the AI era, user needs have changed. While previously, Apple could provide a clear path for tasks like sending messages via WeChat, today users require more open-ended services such as summarizing financial reports or planning travel itineraries. These tasks involve multiple steps that need to be handled by AI. However, Apple struggles with relinquishing control, preferring to provide fixed solutions. This conflict arises from its product philosophy, as it fears losing control over user experiences.
3. Integrating Google Gemini: A Smart Compromise
Many believe that Apple's integration of Gemini indicates a recognition of its inability to compete with Google. However, the real significance lies in Apple's new AI infrastructure, the Apple Foundation. This move signifies that Apple acknowledges the need to rebuild its operating systems around AI. By abandoning its own model development, Apple retains four key aspects: the user interface (Siri remains under Apple's control), data (user information stays with Apple), hardware (iPhone/iPad continue to be Apple products), and user relationships (users still interact through Apple's systems). Similar to how the iPhone defined how people used the internet without producing content itself, Apple now aims to make its AI services the first choice for users.
4. Apple's Focus on Optimizing User Experience
Although AI is a major focus, the underlying improvements in iOS 27 are more in line with Apple's tradition: app launches are 30% faster, photo storage speeds have increased by 70%, and AirDrop performance has improved by 80%. Even the iPhone 11 can be upgraded. Instead of relying on AI to create new hardware requirements, Apple integrates it into everyday experiences. For instance, search functions now use semantic understanding—when users search for "photos taken at the beach yesterday," the system understands the context rather than just keywords. This shows that Apple still values predictability and prefers to provide a seamless user experience.
5. Changing Competitors
In the past, Apple's main competitors were hardware manufacturers like Nokia and Samsung. Now, it faces companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, which operate in fundamentally different ways. While Apple releases major updates annually after thorough development, these AI companies iterate frequently (and make corrections when needed). More importantly, they are not only developing models but also creating user interfaces. For example, OpenAI and Jony Ive are working on AI-related hardware, while Google has integrated Gemini into Android. If in the future, users can complete tasks by speaking directly to AI without using apps, Apple's App Store will be at risk, as developers may bypass it to reach users directly.
Conclusion
The 2026 WWDC marks not the end of Apple's AI efforts but the beginning of its acknowledgment that AI will define the next generation of operating systems. The question remains: As AI reshapes how people interact with devices, can Apple continue to be the rule-maker? The answer will depend on how the new CEO, John Ternus, addresses these challenges.