Tim Cook Defends Apple's AI Delay: 'We've Rarely Been First'

Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke to employees at an all-hands meeting today, providing some insight into Apple's work on AI. According to Bloomberg, Cook said that AI is going to be bigger than smartphones and the internet, and that it's a priority for the company.

Apple Intelligence General Feature 2
"Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab. We will make the investment to do it," Cook told employees.

Cook pointed out that Apple has dominated several markets even when the company wasn't first to the technology. "We've rarely been first. There was a PC before the Mac; there was a smartphone before the iPhone; there were many tablets before the iPad; there was an MP3 player before iPod," Cook said, suggesting that Apple will play a major role in transforming AI in the future.

The all-hands meeting comes a day after Apple's earnings call, where Cook made similar remarks about Apple's plan to make significant investments in AI. During the call, Cook said Apple was open to making an acquisition that would accelerate its roadmap.

Apple has held talks with Perplexity and Mistral about a potential major AI acquisition, and the company has also discussed using technology from OpenAI or Anthropic for an LLM-based version of Siri.

Apple software chief Craig Federighi was also on hand to discuss ‌Siri‌, and he said the company's efforts to overhaul the underlying ‌Siri‌ architecture are promising. Apple is getting the "needed" results from the ‌Siri‌ overhaul. "This has put us in a position to not just deliver what we announced, but to deliver a much bigger upgrade than we envisioned. There is no project people are taking more seriously," Federighi said.

Cook and Federighi may have been aiming to reassure employees about Apple's dedication to AI due to Meta's efforts to poach AI experts. Several Apple AI engineers have left Apple for Meta because Meta has been offering massive pay packages, and morale at Apple has been falling.

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Top Rated Comments

CouldBeWorse Avatar
8 weeks ago
it’s not about them being first it’s about the fact that they made a promise that they had to go back on and not deliver for over a year past the original estimate
Score: 75 Votes (Like | Disagree)
germanbeer007 Avatar
8 weeks ago


"Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab. We will make the investment to do it," Cook told employees.

you know Tim Cook isn't a product guy when he's always worried about the money and not the product.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zc456 Avatar
8 weeks ago
Apple wasn't first with the MP3 player but at least they didn't constantly trip all over themselves during the rollout.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macaddict06 Avatar
8 weeks ago
Sure, Apple is not always first. But this is different. They tried to be one of the firsts and flopped. That’s unprecedented. When Apple is late to the party it’s because they waited to introduce a product that revolutionized the space.

Nice pep talk but ultimately many dollars many days too late
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ijordano Avatar
8 weeks ago
Apple regularly talk about not being first, but usually when they announce something they deliver the thing. This isn't a case of coming first, it's a case of advertising a line of phones with a promise of software features that have still not materialised.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimCooked Avatar
8 weeks ago
Tim.. Don´t talk. Deliver. Show your action if you think you are a real man. Siri from WWDC 2024 is already overdue.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)