The first preview of Apple Intelligence for developers shows just how far the company has to go to live up to the hype. Also: Apple reshuffles its design team leadership; expect the iPhone 16 before Apple Intelligence; and the company returns to revenue growth.
Last time in Power On: The Apple Watch is getting bigger screens but a similar look.
The Starters
This past week, Apple took the wraps off Apple Intelligence for the first time, giving developers an early preview at the suite of new features.
But it will take a while for consumers to start using the software. The features won’t be in the initial version of iOS 18 and other new operating systems. Instead, they’ll be included in iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.
Apple Intelligence won’t roll out in September when the iPhone arrives; it will probably begin launching publicly in October. And even then, customers will only see a small piece of the vision that Apple presented when it unveiled the capabilities in June at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
After testing the first beta version of Apple Intelligence myself, I can tell you that the features don’t yet live up to the excitement. In their current state, they’re a far cry from the game-changing technology that fans and investors hope Apple Intelligence will become.
Since the AI software was unveiled in June, Apple’s stock has handily outperformed the broader market—a bet that the