Welcome back! 🍎
Here’s the latest with Apple.

• iOS 19 will be huge - with some caveats

• Apple sued over Apple Intelligence delays

• & more!

📊 Poll

Last week, we asked: Do you think the iPhone 16e is appropriately priced at $599?

Here were my favorite replies:

This week: Do you want a redesign for iOS 19? Why or why not?

🗞️ The Latest

📲 iOS 19 Could Change Everything

We are less than 3 months away from seeing iOS 19 at WWDC and this could be an update for the ages. Here’s why.

• Apple is planning one of the most dramatic overhauls to iOS, iPadOS and macOS for 2025.

• The updates will bring a visual redesign with new interfaces inspired by visionOS. This includes new icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons.

• This revamp is expected to bring visual consistency to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

• We’ve also heard that iOS 19 will not unveil groundbreaking new Apple Intelligence features, but will rather improve upon existing features and bring them to more apps.

• The big Apple Intelligence features, including the ChatGPT-like Siri are now expected in iOS 20, potentially even iOS 20.4 in 2027.

• However, we should see Apple adopt RCS 3.0 in iOS 19. This will add end-to-end encryption, in-line replies, unsend & edit messages, and more.

The EU Rulebook

Apple will also be forced to include several changes to satisfy the EU’s government.

• The European Commission recently published a long list of changes that Apple is legally required to add in iOS 19 and iOS 20.

• Some of the requirements include:

Apple quickly responded by saying that these new requirements are "bad for our products and bad for our European users."

My take: Every year we hear about a “redesign” coming to iOS and it never happens. However, this time, we’ve heard this same rumor from at least 3 credible sources, including Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, and that never happens.

So, I do believe that iOS 19 will include a major redesign for the first time in many years. And while many are expecting circular icons (like on visionOS), I’m not convinced that will be coming to iOS/iPadOS. I also vocalized my dislike for the circular icons in a concept image shared on X.

Now, do I think that this design overhaul is a cover-up for the Apple Intelligence blunder? No. This software was being designed/developed long before iOS 18 was released and the backlash became widespread.

As for the EU requirements, I think this just gets more and more ridiculous as time goes on. They should not legally have the right to demand so many fundamental changes to the iOS platform, especially when the asks are a net negative to Apple as a company.

Apple spends billions on hiring the best designers and developers in the world, so why should they be forced to hand out their features for free? There are many things I agree with the EU on, but it’s getting a bit ridiculous at this point.

🫣 Apple’s AI Controversy

If you have been following Apple news for the past few months, it has been impossible to ignore the headlines of Apple delaying its Apple Intelligence features. Here’s the rundown and my thoughts.

• Last month, we heard that Apple’s long-awaited upgrades to Siri and Apple Intelligence were being delayed from iOS 18.4 to iOS 18.5.

• Then, just a couple of weeks later, we heard that Apple had delayed the features even further - this time until iOS 19! Apple’s statement is below:

• The most alarming part of this delay, though, is that Apple might have to completely scrap the new Siri AI features and start over.

• Bloomberg reported that “some within Apple’s AI division believe that work on the features could be scrapped altogether, and that Apple may have to rebuild the functions from scratch. The capabilities would then be delayed until a next-generation Siri that Apple hopes to begin rolling out in 2026.”

• John Gruber also wrote an interesting piece called ‘Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino’ that details how the writing was on the wall for these delays.

• Meanwhile, the ChatGPT-like Siri has been delayed until 2027 at the earliest. This was never announced by Apple, though, so it’s hard to call it “delayed.”

Do the Features Actually Exist?

• After all of these delays, many have questioned whether or not these Apple Intelligence features ever existed in the first place, or if they were just concept designs created to show off potential future functionality.

• That does not appear to be the case, though. Apple's senior director of Siri, Robby Walker, demonstrated some of the personalized Siri features during a recent all-hands meeting with the Siri division.

• So, the features weren’t entirely non-existent, but when Apple demonstrated them at WWDC, it only had a barely functional prototype. And it wasn’t until months later that we hear about live demos. Very un-Apple.

• Apple's top Siri exec called the AI delays “embarrassing & ugly” in a meeting, while saying a decision to promote features before they were ready worsened the situation.

• Regardless, Apple is currently facing a lawsuit for false advertising. Shocker, I know.

A New Face in Charge

• After the “embarrassing” Apple Intelligence rollout, Apple is shaking up its executive ranks in a rare move made on Thursday.

• Tim Cook has lost confidence in the head of AI, John Giannandrea, to execute on product development.

• So now, Cook has appointed Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell to lead Siri and bring its Apple Intelligence dreams to life.

My take: At this point, there’s no defending Apple for the botched rollout of Apple Intelligence. However, it’s important to note that there has only ever been one official delay - and that’s for the personal context Siri being pushed from iOS 18 to iOS 19.

The other delays weren’t really “delays” as Apple never formally announced an exact release date. This is especially true for the “ChatGPT-like Siri” that was labeled as “delayed” despite never being announced by Apple.

The real issue for me isn’t the delays—that’s part of software development. It’s that Apple showcased features at WWDC knowing they weren’t anywhere near ready for public use. That’s just disingenuous.

I think Tim Cook’s decision to replace the previous head of Siri is a great move that will hopefully get the ball rolling in the right direction again.

Anyway, I genuinely believe iOS 19 will bring a major design overhaul. I think it’ll spark a similar reaction to iOS 7—where the changes are polarizing at first, but eventually become widely accepted and even loved over time.

📰 Quick Bites

• Report: Apple losing over $1 billion a year on Apple TV+ service

• iOS 18.3.2 Broke iCloud Mail Delivery

• Vision Pro Creator Taking Over Siri After Apple Intelligence Setbacks

• How Bribes Helped a Crime Ring Steal Thousands of iPhones From Porches

• YouTube Says Videos Are Blurry for Some iOS Users, But a Fix Is Coming

• Audi A6 Avant e-tron Supports Apple Car Keys, Porsche Likely to Follow

• Foldable MacBook-iPad Hybrid Device Likely to Run macOS, Analyst Says

• Apple makes Tap to Pay available in more European countries

• Apple Working on Mystery New Display

• Resident Evil 3 Now Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

• Apple Debuts Short Film Starring Pedro Pascal With AirPods 4

• The Latest iPhone 17 Dummy Units

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