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Apple is abandoning its internal AI development for Siri and instead considering partnerships with OpenAI or Anthropic to power its voice assistant, according to new Bloomberg reporting. This represents a major strategic retreat for one of the world’s largest tech companies, which has faced lawsuits from shareholders and customers over unfulfilled promises about AI-powered Siri features in the iPhone 16.

What you should know: Apple’s AI ambitions have spectacularly failed to materialize, forcing the company to seek outside help for Siri’s long-promised upgrade.

  • The iPhone 16, launched in September 2024 for $799, was marketed with promises of “Apple Intelligence” features and an AI-powered Siri that could autonomously complete tasks.
  • Instead of delivering on these promises, Apple has repeatedly delayed the Siri AI upgrade, most recently pushing it to 2026 in early June.
  • The company now faces multiple lawsuits from shareholders and customers who claim they were misled about the AI capabilities.

The partnership talks: Apple has approached both OpenAI and Anthropic about training versions of their large language models to run on Apple’s cloud platform.

  • Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that Anthropic’s Claude is currently the preferred choice among Apple executives, including Siri chief Mike Rockwell.
  • The discussions involve having these AI companies customize their models specifically for Apple’s infrastructure, likely for mass adoption testing.

Why this matters: The move signals Apple’s acknowledgment that it cannot keep pace with AI development internally, marking a significant shift for a company known for controlling its technology stack.

  • Apple’s retreat comes as the company has invested heavily in AI infrastructure, including a $500 billion commitment to US tech manufacturing over four years.
  • The decision positions Apple as the largest tech company to openly question the current AI hype cycle.

The bigger picture: Apple’s AI struggles coincide with the company’s growing skepticism about industry-wide AI claims.

  • In June, Apple’s Machine Learning Research lab published a white paper declaring that the broader AI industry was “massively overhyping” the abilities of top AI models.
  • The research specifically challenged OpenAI’s claims that its chatbots can “reason,” a key selling point used by CEO Sam Altman.

What this means: Apple’s potential pivot to third-party AI partnerships would be viewed as a major failure by investors and customers, representing the company’s inability to deliver on its AI promises after nine months of delays and legal challenges.

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