Apple Intelligence: Squandering the Holy Grail of Trusted Compute

This article analyzes Apple's recently released Apple Intelligence, a suite of features designed to bring intelligence to iPhones. While Apple achieved a remarkable feat in building a secure 'Private Cloud Compute' system, prioritizing user data privacy and security, the actual implementation of these features is underwhelming. The author dissects each feature, from Writing Tools and notification summaries to Image Playground, revealing shortcomings and a lack of maturity that fall short of Apple's usual high standards. The article argues Apple missed an opportunity to create a 'bicycle for the mind' (Steve Jobs' analogy for computers), squandering a powerful technological foundation on lackluster applications. The exception is Math Notes, which the author praises highly. The piece concludes by exploring the nature and proper applications of generative AI, suggesting its strength lies in backend tasks like data analysis rather than direct-to-consumer products. The author laments the unfulfilled potential of Apple Intelligence, comparing it unfavorably to alternative, more effective open-source tools.