Between Perfection and Pace - Apple Finally Gets a Move On

Further to my earlier post on Apple’s dilemma between perfection and pace on AI, where I had written about how the dawn of the AI era is proving to be Apple’s moment of reckoning, things now seem to be gathering pace at Cupertino.

The headline development is Apple’s reported $1 billion annual deal with Google to access its Gemini model, featuring a staggering 1.2 trillion parameters, to run on Apple’s private cloud servers. The goal, a full Siri makeover, with Mike Rockwell now taking charge of the project, replacing long-time AI head John Giannandrea.

Product development, it appears, has taken center stage again. At hardware level, Apple’s launch of the M5 chip, nearly four times more powerful than its predecessor is another clear signal of intent. In a first, its Neural Engine is designed to cooperate seamlessly with CPU and GPU neural accelerators, promising unmatched on device AI experience.Just a few months ago, Walter Piecyk of LightShed Partners had raised concerns about Apple’s limited visible progress on AI, identifying an ‘AI first hardware device’ as a direct threat to Apple’s hardware supremacy. @Jaspreet Bindra, Founder of AI & Beyond and author of Winning with AI, insightfully noted that Apple might need a technology leader in the mold of Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, to pivot from logistics driven execution to product led innovation.

While it may be premature to say that these concerns are fully addressed, one thing is clear,  Apple is finally getting a move on, while holding firmly to its core value: privacy.