In a scathing blog post that has caught the tech world’s attention, renowned Apple pundit John Gruber has shared his frustrations over Apple’s delayed rollout of personalized Siri features. Gruber, known for his long-standing insights into Apple's strategies and products, took to his blog, Daring Fireball, to voice his concerns, claiming that the company’s credibility is now at stake.
Apple’s Credibility at Risk: A Crisis of Trust
In his post titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino," Gruber doesn’t mince words. He argues that Apple, once the epitome of innovation and reliability, is now facing a credibility crisis. He pointed out that while Apple remains financially sound, with record profits year after year, their reputation for delivering on promises has taken a significant hit. "Keynote by keynote, product by product, feature by feature, year after year after year, Apple went from a company that you couldn't believe would even remain solvent, to, by far, the most credible company in tech," Gruber writes. "Apple remains at no risk of financial bankruptcy (and in fact remains the most profitable company in the world). But their credibility is now damaged." Gruber's criticism stems from the delay of the much-anticipated personalized Siri features, which were announced at Apple’s WWDC keynote in 2024. While the company pitched the features as a major step forward for Siri’s capabilities, the failure to deliver has left a sour taste in the mouths of both consumers and tech insiders alike.The “Fiasco†Behind the Delay
It’s not just the delay that bothers Gruber—it’s the lack of transparency and the way Apple handled the situation. According to Gruber, the real issue lies in the story Apple "pitched" to its audience last year. He believes the company misrepresented the personalized Siri features as something they were confident would be ready, only to fall short in execution. "The fiasco here is not that Apple is late on AI. It's also not that they had to announce an embarrassing delay on promised features last week. Those are problems, not fiascos, and problems happen. They're inevitable," Gruber acknowledges. "Leaders prove their mettle and create their legacies not by how they deal with successes but by how they deal with — how they acknowledge, understand, adapt, and solve — problems." But Gruber is unequivocal about where Apple went wrong: "The fiasco is that Apple pitched a story that wasn't true, one that some people within the company surely understood wasn't true, and they set a course based on that."
The Concept Video Controversy
One of the most pointed criticisms Gruber made was directed at the "personalized Siri" concept video shown at WWDC 2024. Gruber did not mince words, calling the video "bullshit." "What Apple showed regarding the upcoming 'personalized Siri' at WWDC was not a demo. It was a concept video. Concept videos are bullshit, and a sign of a company in disarray, if not crisis," he declared. For Gruber, the failure to deliver on a video that was marketed as a potential breakthrough in AI innovation speaks volumes about the company’s internal mismanagement. He emphasized that Apple’s inability or unwillingness to demonstrate these features in action should have been a clear warning sign. "You can stretch the truth and maintain credibility, but you can't maintain credibility with bullshit," he states bluntly. "And the 'more personalized Siri' features, it turns out, were bullshit."A Culture of Excellence in Jeopardy
Gruber’s concerns go beyond just Siri and its delayed features. He argues that if Apple does not take immediate action to address the issues with its AI initiatives, it could signal a broader cultural decline within the company. He fears that mediocrity and a lack of accountability could soon take hold, damaging the very culture that has made Apple the most successful tech company in the world. "Tim Cook should have already held a meeting like that to address and rectify this Siri and Apple Intelligence debacle," Gruber writes. "If such a meeting hasn't yet occurred or doesn’t happen soon, then, I fear, that's all she wrote. The ride is over. When mediocrity, excuses, and bullshit take root, they take over." He continues, "A culture of excellence, accountability, and integrity cannot abide the acceptance of any of those things, and will quickly collapse upon itself with the acceptance of all three." Gruber’s message is clear: Apple’s handling of Siri’s personalization feature, combined with a history of unfulfilled promises, could have lasting consequences on the company’s culture and reputation.