The keynote is over and the band has packed up in Cupertino. I’ve got betas downloading on far too many devices and I’m just hours away from having most of my Apple devices barely functional running early beta software. Here are a few notes I took during the keynote.

The Role of Apple Intelligence

It’s no surprise that Apple didn’t perform any form of mea culpa with respect to Siri and the first year of Apple Intelligence. If anything, they just leaned into the features that did ship. Moreover, if the phrase Apple Intelligence were a drinking game, you would be well and truly sloshed by the end of this event.

I still think it’s ridiculous how far behind Apple got with Siri and artificial intelligence, but I do think they may have a window of time to catch up. I do wonder, however, if that’s tenable when they only update once a year and the big artificial intelligence innovations seem to be happening weekly.

Liquid Glass

While not a surprise, Liquid Glass still looks delightful and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it. As further evidence that this will not be like iOS 7, they’ve put it on all the platforms at once. That doesn’t happen overnight.

Folders and Customization

There are some fun folder customization options showing up for the Mac that remind me of the old days of Mac customization. That feature’s also coming to iPad and speaking of iPad…

The iPad Had a Great Year

An actual flexible windowing system, a massive improvement to the Files app, Spotlight, and background tasks. It feels like the iPad power user’s wishlist finally got some attention in Cupertino. I still want to see where the sharp edges are on this feature. Moreover, it’s important that non-power users still get a consistent experience. I’m super interested to see how they thread that needle.

Shortcuts and AI

This was one of my favorite segments. It looks like Spotlight is getting some real improvements. Moreover, you can now specifically call different forms of Apple Intelligence, including Private Cloud Compute, from a Shortcuts action. The devil will be in the details here, but I am really looking forward to testing this.

visionOS Jumps

As the newest platform, visionOS continues to have the biggest yearly leaps. Sticky windows and widgets sound great. The Logitech MX Ink got only passing mention, but the idea of a pen you can write with in visionOS has me super interested.

Overall

There weren’t a ton of surprises, but Apple did have a few AI cards up its sleeve and shipping a UI update across all platforms on the same day is an impressive feat. They may have another year left assuming the AI rocket ship doesn’t leave orbit in the meantime, but that’s a big “if.” I expect they don’t need me to tell them that.

In a few days, Apple will take the stage at WWDC 2025. This year’s keynote speech feels like an inflection point for Apple. More than just announcing the new operating systems, this year Apple needs to show its ability to evolve.

As we sit here, just days before, there’s a growing list of uncertainties around Apple.

Artificial Intelligence Questions

All of Apple’s competitors are making strides with artificial intelligence:

• Google has jumped into artificial intelligence with both feet with the Gemini LLM. But that’s not all. They’ve also aggressively integrated artificial intelligence into all their platforms, with features already shipping.
• Open AI and Anthropic are also iterating fast with consumer and enterprise offerings.
• Microsoft doesn’t have a frontier model but has already incorporated artificial intelligence through the co-pilot ecosystem. Microsoft’s recent commitments to Anthropic’s MCP Agent model will have a huge impact on enterprise computing.

In contrast, in its first year, Apple Intelligence feels like a dud. Moreover, there are few signs from the outside that Apple is rising to the challenge. For the first time in a long time, the tech world is pivoting to something new, and Apple isn’t part of the conversation.

Design Challenger

Then there’s the OpenAI-Jony Ive alliance. Whether anything ever comes out of it, the announcement still feels like a shot across the bow in Cupertino. Apple has always been the recognized leader in hardware design. And now that’s being called into question.

Whither, Siri?

And then there’s the Siri question. In Apple’s rush to prove it had artificial intelligence chops last year, it got ahead of its skis. The problem is, Siri is still bad. “Still” is the correct word. I have a long-running gripe with Apple on this. Siri’s inadequacies have been well-documented for years. They’re in this mess because they chose to leave it bad. Now, a broken Siri is kneecapping Apple’s AI initiative, and they are discovering that fixing it is a multi-year project.

Disgruntled Developers

And then maybe the biggest cloud over Apple right now at WWDC is its deteriorating relationship with its independent developers. I’ve been writing about Apple and talking to developers for almost 20 years now, and I have never seen them more frustrated with Apple. Put simply, Apple is overdrawn in its relationship with its developers. And now that soured relationship is costing Apple. Don’t believe me? Just look at the dearth of good apps for the Vision Pro.

A Few Humble Suggestions

So, can Apple get out of this pickle at WWDC? Probably not. But they certainly could make a start. However, if Apple thinks introducing a new user interface and numbering scheme will be enough, they’re wrong. Here’s a few ideas about how Apple could answer some of these questions at the WWDC.

Re-Introduce and Recommit to Apple Intelligence

First, I think they should take another pass at Apple Intelligence. The original strategy, focusing on using artificial intelligence combined with Apple’s access to private data, was a good one. The problem wasn’t the strategy, but the execution. I would double down on the strategy and also give concrete examples of roadmaps, models, and plans to prove they have the chops to bring it to life. I think they should also get even more aggressive with their partnerships with the existing frontier models and consider even more integration with iOS until Apple can set its own AI house in order.

I know what you’re thinking right now: Apple doesn’t do this. They never talk about how they’re going to do something in the future. They don’t let other companies into their house. Well gang, it’s time for them to change their approach.

Last year, Apple demonstrated fictional AI features. So if they want to re-establish any credibility, it’s time to come clean and get out of their comfort zone.

Address the Siri Rebuild

Second, I would reintroduce Siri for real this time. Literally every other major player in the AI space has proven the ability to get intelligent conversational texts and dialogue with artificial intelligence. Apple is a trillion-dollar company, and surely they have the ability to do that. They need to demonstrate that ability along with their commitment to do it spectacularly.

Siri needs that bottom-up rewrite. A reliable Siri is even more critical to Apple because it doesn’t have its own frontier model. To become part of the AI conversation, Apple needs to become the gatekeeper of AI on its platforms, and a first-class Siri is the obvious gatekeeper in that scenario.

It appears Apple has only very recently found religion about Siri and the new management has only been there a short while. As such, I’m not expecting them to say much, if anything, about Siri while they regroup. I think they should address it, though. Even if they say, “Hey. We get it about the challenges with Siri. We’re going to have a lot to say about that in the future, but for now, understand we get it and we are working on it.”

Give the Developers Useful New Tools

Now, to help restore their relationship with developers, an easy win would be providing them access to Apple Intelligence. What has always made the Apple platforms best in breed is the extraordinary software developed by independent developers. If Apple gives the Apple Intelligence toolset to developers (assuming the toolsets are working), they will develop new and interesting uses that suddenly make the Apple platforms relevant to artificial intelligence again.

The problems with developers, however, run much deeper and something like this would be only a start. It took years for Apple to dig this hole and it will take years to dig out.

Bring Apple’s Design Chops to Artificial Intelligence

Next, Apple should focus on design. That still is Apple’s forte, and the current design and user experience amongst artificial intelligence is abysmal. Just look at the ridiculous way ChatGPT names its models. Apple could use its design prowess to create a human-first artificial intelligence experience that could put it right back on the map.

I don’t know what Apple intends to do on Monday when it takes the stage, but I sincerely hope they are working overtime on this one.

The landscape is changing, and Apple needs to adjust to that. This isn’t as extreme as some folks make it out to be. Apple is not on the precipice of irrelevance here. If, however, they don’t meet these challenges head-on, they could be starting their slide. I hope Tim Cook and his team step up to the moment this week.

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I may regret posting this, but here goes.

On Monday, Apple’s going to announce its new user interface redesign for all of its platforms. There are so many rumors around this now, and it seems inevitable. Several folks have asked me if I think that it’s going to be like the hot mess we had back in the iOS 7 days. I don’t think so.

When Apple first announced and released the flat design of iOS 7, it was a hellish beta. Some of the initial font choices were unreadable to me, and over the course of the beta period, they pulled back from the original aggressive design. What folks forget, though, is that iOS 7 was a rushed redesign. Shortly before, Scott Forstall had been fired from the company, and Jony Ive had been given control of software.

The iOS 7 look came from Jony, and the Apple engineers did not have much time to implement it. As such, not only was the beta period difficult, but the iOS 7 launch was difficult. When they publicly released iOS 7, many people still had bugs and problems with their phones, so much so that to this day, I know people who will not automatically install Apple updates anymore because of iOS 7.

The upcoming redesign is not, and does not feel like, something that Apple is rushing out the door. Indeed, I thought we might get this last year. Apple spent years developing this new look with the Vision Pro, and it really seemed natural that this new look would be coming to the rest of Apple’s platforms.

This wasn’t a last-minute decision because they’re behind on artificial intelligence. If anything, it’s a delayed release of a user interface they’ve been working on for years. I could be entirely wrong about this. I don’t have any inside information, but if I had to bet a nickel, I’d say that, despite the fact they’re making significant changes to the user interface across the board, this will be nothing like the iOS 7 days.

My feelings heading into WWDC next week are mixed. With the rest of the industry rocketing forward with artificial intelligence innovation, it feels like Apple is stuck in the starting blocks. 

Something that does make me feel hopeful for next week, however, is the increasing evidence of a new user interface across all the Apple platforms. It looks to be something akin to what they did with visionOS. This is an opportunity for Apple to show its design muscle and just how good they are at making a delightful interface. Sebastiaan de With, who formerly worked at Apple, wrote an excellent article breaking down his thoughts and ideas around what that could mean. I hope he’s right.

Apple announced WWDC 2024 will be held June 10-14. I had expected it a week earlier, but we’re still in early June. If the rumors are to be believed, this will be a big year for software.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Apple does with artificial intelligence.