While Google Leaps, Apple Lingers

I watched the Google I/O event this morning. It’s shocking just how much Google has bet the company on AI. They’re even replacing search! In contrast, one of Apple’s tent poles will be a user-interface revamp. I can’t help but think Apple’s still fighting the last war while Google is gearing up for the next one. From the outside, it appears Apple is asleep.

Clearly, Apple has opted out of the frontier model race, and I can see why they did that. It feels far enough out of their wheelhouse that perhaps they should have passed on it. (Although what would have happened if they took the investment in the failed car and put that into AI back in the day?)

Where I’m baffled is Apple’s lack of embrace of AI technologies in their most important product, the iPhone. Thus far, the Apple Intelligence features seem like crude experiments compared to what Google, OpenAI, Perplexity, and everyone else is doing. It’s time for Apple to put down some big bets on AI for its platforms. I’ll be watching WWDC closely.

Listen Later: Get Your Articles as Podcasts (Sponsor)

Today’s MacSparky sponsor is Listen Later—a clever service that transforms your reading list into personalized podcast episodes narrated by advanced AI.

I love the depth and thoughtfulness of long-form content, but there’s never enough time to sit down and read everything I’d like. Listen Later solves this beautifully by turning articles, emails, and PDFs into rich, lifelike audio experiences. Suddenly, that great article you’ve saved isn’t trapped in your inbox—it’s with you on your daily commute, during your afternoon walk, or while tackling chores around the house.

Their AI narration is genuinely impressive, bringing nuance and clarity that surpasses typical robotic voices. Listen Later even lets you translate content into multiple languages, breaking down barriers to access great global writing. You can easily enjoy your personalized audio feeds in your favorite podcast app, available on all your devices.

Listen Later’s powerful feature set includes article-to-podcast conversions simply by emailing URLs, transforming emails, newsletters, and PDF attachments into audio, and converting content directly from Google Docs and Dropbox. It also converts text within images into podcast episodes and offers multilingual translation and narration, making global content accessible and enjoyable in your preferred language.

Ready to turn your backlog into engaging listens? Sign up today and you’ll receive $2 in free credit, making it easy to give Listen Later a try, risk-free.

Try Listen Later today and start listening smarter.

Apple and AI: Time for Action, Not Excuses

Mark Gurman has published the latest tell-all about Apple’s failure to claim a seat at the artificial intelligence big boy table. The more I read about this, the more it becomes clear that failure here has many fathers. Some of Apple’s leadership apparently didn’t see the underlying technology as relevant. Some didn’t want to spend the money. Others just didn’t make it a priority. For all of these reasons, there’s a ton of innovation happening right now in artificial intelligence, and Apple is responsible for none of it.

At this point, I’m much less interested in how Apple got into this position and much more interested in how they intend to get out of it. Apple remains a massive company with tremendous resources, and in my opinion, it’s not too late to turn this battleship around. I still think Apple’s idea for artificial intelligence, as expressed last year at WWDC, makes sense: refine AI into genuinely useful tools that consumers want, and combine that with private, on-device data to give users something truly unique.

But the question that I first asked last June still remains unanswered: Does Apple have the AI chops to actually make this happen? So far, it appears they don’t. There’s been a recent management shuffle, with Mike Rockwell now in charge of Siri, but the jury’s still out on whether this will be enough.

I’m hoping that the combination of leadership changes and a very public black eye will finally give Apple the push it needs to deliver something remarkable in AI. At the end of the day, Apple’s users—myself included—are waiting to see if the company can make good on its promise to deliver thoughtful, private, and genuinely helpful artificial intelligence.

“How to Avoid a Scam” From the FTC

After writing a few weeks ago about seniors’ particular vulnerability to online scams, I heard from several readers that are actively working to educate seniors about the risks they face. The stories in those emails indicate that things are worse than I thought, and that seniors are even more ignorant to these risks than I imagined.

Reader Lisa sent a link to this excellent document from the FTC, which you can get in PDF or printed form:

How To Avoid a Scam | FTC Bulkorder Publications

Alfred Field Guide Launch Discount

The Alfred Field Guide has landed!

Your Mac at the Speed of Thought.

There’s just a few days left on the Alfred Field Guide Launch discount. If you’d like to get the discount, now’s the time.

Enroll Now!

“ALFREDLAUNCH” for 10% Off


What you’ll master

  • Zero‑to‑Hero Setup: Install Alfred, unlock Powerpack features, and master core prefs in minutes.
  • Launch & Search at Mach Speed: Apps, files, snippets, clipboard, system controls—all from one hotkey.
  • 35+ Plug‑and‑Play Workflows: OmniFocus, Notes, Drafts, Music, link cleanup—and more.
  • Custom Workflows, No Scripting Required: Visual builder tutorials take you from idea to automation.
  • Pro Integrations: Alfred + Shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro, AppleScript mash‑ups that save hours.
  • Advanced Tweaks: Sync across Macs, design themes, harness Alfred Remote, and uncover hidden gems.
  • Power User Interviews: Hear from Alfred Power Users (and the developers) to learn their favorite Workflows.

Remember to enter ALFREDLAUNCH for 10 % off before Wednesday, May 20 @ 11:59 PM PT. I can’t wait to see what you do with Alfred! 

What people are saying about the Alfred Field Guide…

“Prior to the guide I loved Alfred, now I understand the underutilized powerhouse that it is and that I have at my fingertips.”

– GO

“One video in, I was thinking, “How did I not know that?” Five videos, and it was clear that this Field Guide should be watched by everyone using Alfred.”

Neal L.