In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook talked up Apple Intelligence, set to launch later this month. While Apple has faced criticism for trailing behind in the AI arms race, with some reports estimating Apple to be two years behind its rivals, Cook made it clear that the company is more focused on quality than speed.
“We weren’t the first to do intelligence,” Cook said, “but we’ve done it in a way that we think is the best for the customer.” He emphasized that Apple’s priority has always been to deliver carefully refined products, even if that means taking longer to develop them. “It takes a lot of iteration. It takes worrying about every detail. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to do that.”
This approach isn’t new for Apple. The company has a long history of arriving “late” to a product category or feature and then going on to redefine it. MP3 players existed long before 2001, but the iPod launched them into the stratosphere. Smart watches were a niche product in the 2000s, but have become increasingly popular since the launch of Apple Watch. The company loves to bide its time, learning from other company’s mistakes, before doing things its own way and often dominating the industry.
Cook revealed that he’s already using Apple Intelligence in his daily routine, particularly for email summaries, which he says have transformed how he manages his inbox. “If I can save time here and there, it adds up to something significant across a day, a week, a month. It’s changed my life. It really has.”
Looking ahead, Cook believes Apple Intelligence will make a “profoundly different” impact on users, although he acknowledges it won’t happen overnight. Apple Intelligence is expected to begin its rollout at the end of October with the release of iOS 18.1, with availability expanding in stages over the following months.