By Allison Johnson
Publication Date: 2026-01-15 19:00:00
For an AI loser, Apple gained a lot last year.
The mess that came with Apple Intelligence’s launch was embarrassing, but despite it all, the company continued doing what it does best: selling iPhones. With news this week that it will use Gemini models to power the long-awaited, smarter Siri, Apple appears to have gained a big lead in the overall AI race. But there is still a big challenge ahead of us – and Apple is not out of the race yet.
Apple Intelligence had a well-documented rocky start in 2024. The iPhone 16 was “built for Apple Intelligence” but shipped without it. Features were added over the next few months, but the so-called smarter Siri never materialized. Apple executives admitted that they had gone back to the drawing board, the people in charge were being reshuffled, and it was all looking like a major failure on Apple’s part.
But it doesn’t exactly seem like people are ready to trade in their iPhones for Google’s Gemini Android phones. After…