The Vaporware That Apple Insists Isn't Vaporware
- Reference: 0178041261
- News link: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/06/13/196231/the-vaporware-that-apple-insists-isnt-vaporware
- Source link:
Now, nearly a year later, Apple executives Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak are [3]conducting press interviews claiming the 2024 demonstration wasn't "vaporware" because working code existed internally at the time. The company says the features will arrive "in the coming year" -- which Apple confirmed means sometime in 2026.
Apple is essentially arguing that internal development milestones matter more than actual product delivery. The executives have also been setting up strawman arguments, claiming critics expected Apple to build a ChatGPT competitor rather than addressing the core issue: [4]announcing features to sell phones that then don't materialize. The company's timeline communication has been equally problematic, using euphemistic language like "in the coming year" instead of simply saying "2026" for features that won't arrive for nearly two years after announcement.
Developer Russell Ivanovic, [5]in a Mastodon post :
> My guy. You announced something that never shipped. You made ads for it. You tried to sell iPhones based on it. What's the difference if you had it running internally or not. Still vaporware. Zero difference.
[6]MG Siegler :
> The underlying message that they're trying to convey in all these interviews is clear: calm down, this isn't a big deal, you guys are being a little crazy. And that, in turn, aims to undercut all the reporting about the turmoil within Apple -- for years at this point -- that has led to the situation with Siri. Sorry, the situation which they're implying is not a situation. Though, I don't know, normally when a company shakes up an entire team, that tends to suggest some sort of situation. That, of course, is never mentioned. Nor would you expect Apple -- of all companies -- to talk openly and candidly about internal challenges. But that just adds to this general wafting smell in the air.
>
> The smell of bullshit.
Further reading : [7]Apple's Spin on the Personalized Siri Apple Intelligence Reset .
[1] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/06/10/1832242/apple-unveils-apple-intelligence
[2] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/03/07/1833202/apple-delays-more-personalized-siri-apple-intelligence-features
[3] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/06/11/144258/apple-executives-defend-ai-strategy
[4] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/03/10/1936216/apple-pulls-iphone-16-ad-showing-off-more-personal-siri
[5] https://mastodon.social/@rustyshelf/114667389093029657
[6] https://spyglass.org/spyglasslighting/
[7] https://daringfireball.net/2025/06/apples_spin_on_the_personalized_siri_apple_intelligence_reset
I am sure the airline or airport (Score:2)
Will have estimated departure and arrivals of flights, maybe there is a website with that information listed, no Siri & AI required and just a browser and internet connection will do nicely
Re: (Score:2)
Except going to a web site on a mobile phone and trying to find anything useful is too difficult. Simply asking for the information is far easier.
If you're on a real computer then it's a bit easier, assuming there's any semblance of competency to the web site.
Re:I am sure the airline or airport (Score:4, Insightful)
> no Siri & AI required and just a browser and internet connection will do nicely
I can do all these things. The idea is...I don't have to.
I don't have to open up messages and scroll through trying to find the message with the flight number (Oh! Mom didn't send it, my sister did), find the website that lets me look up the flight number and airport to get the airline, then go to the airline website that shows arrival times, then go to the traffic website to figure out what time I should leave in order to get there on time. Siri can do all those things for me and come back with, "Mom gets in at 5:30PM, but you should probably leave in 15 minutes if you want to get there on time."
Yes, I can write programs in assembler. But I don't have to.
Re: I am sure the airline or airport (Score:1)
Siri doesnt do that yet, so yes, you do have to. And if using an airport website is too complex for you maybe stick to playing with lego.
TBD (Score:1)
So first of all, this is referencing last year. Nothing failed with Apple intelligence, and that's the point, they play it safely. AI works, and it's as scary as combine harvesting, transistor radios and tape recordings. It's all solid state now though. Apple practices politics as one of the largest companies in the world. The animosity to Tim Cook is nothing compared to Musk or Trump. It's very hard to get the world in agreement on what a better world looks like, especially with all the hurt everyone
AirPower (Score:2)
Sometimes, stuff is just hard to get right. Look at AirPower: announced in 2017; cancelled in 2019 because they just couldn't;t make it work right.
I'd personally rather Apple take their time and get AI done right, than jam it into every single product, irrespective of if it makes sense or not. A Copilot-powered Notepad, for example, is just silly; yet here we are. The case management built into Dynamics CRM has Copilot summaries now; they are less than useful and make page loading take so much longer.
I boug
Innovation at Apple (Score:1)
Innovation at Apple: If it’s not vaporware, you’re holding it wrong!
It's not VaporWare[TM], it's FutureWare[TM]! (Score:2)
The only difference is at some point between now and the end of the universe, FutureWare[TM] will happen. If it doesn't, then it was VaporWare[TM] after all.