"Wait and Perfect" Strategy Backfires on Apple in Fast-Moving AI Landscape
Apple's legendary strategy of waiting for others to pioneer new technologies before perfecting them has hit a wall in the AI era, with the company's hardware-focused approach proving incompatible with the rapid innovation cycles of artificial intelligence, according to prominent tech analyst Marques Brownlee.
While Apple continues to market its unreleased "Apple Intelligence" features, the reality of significantly delayed capabilities reveals a company struggling to adapt to a new technological paradigm, End of Miles reports.
The Second Mover Strategy That Built an Empire
The tech giant's traditional approach of observing competitors before releasing polished versions of existing technologies has been central to Apple's $3 trillion success story. "There are a lot of examples where Apple's not necessarily first to something," notes Brownlee. "They sort of sit back and let someone else do the working on it, and the maturing of the technology happens, and then they jump in and implement it their own way."
"They were not first to do OLEDs in their phones. They were not first to do wireless earbuds. They were not first to make a tablet. The iPhone itself is a perfect example." Marques Brownlee
This calculated patience has historically allowed Apple to learn from competitors' mistakes while leveraging their hardware integration expertise. However, the AI revolution appears to be operating on fundamentally different principles.
Why AI Breaks Apple's Playbook
The software-driven nature of AI development has created an environment where waiting translates directly to falling behind, according to Brownlee's analysis. While competitors rapidly iterate on AI implementations, Apple's deliberate pace has left it struggling to keep up.
"The thing is this second mover strategy is very much a hardware strategy, at least it typically has been. And this AI thing is different. It is very much just been these companies iterating as fast as possible and just moving and trying to implement as much as they can." The tech reviewer
Google's Gemini assistant, Samsung's Galaxy AI features, and Microsoft's Copilot integration all entered the market before Apple's still-incomplete Intelligence suite. These companies have gained valuable real-world usage data while Apple continues promising features it has yet to deliver.
The Incomplete Intelligence
Despite announcing Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024 with considerable fanfare, the actual rollout has been strikingly incremental. The AI expert points out that while some features have arrived through iOS updates, the most significant capabilities—particularly Siri improvements—remain unreleased nearly a year later.
"At this point, we're months away from the original iPhone launching built for Apple Intelligence, but this time, they flipped the switch on visual intelligence... but there is still no improved Siri." Brownlee
This fragmented release schedule contrasts sharply with Apple's usual approach of unveiling complete, polished products. The Stanford technology observer notes that Apple has taken the unusual step of marketing features it cannot yet demonstrate—even having to delete a commercial showing Siri capabilities that don't exist.
The Privacy Paradox
Apple's commitment to privacy further complicates its AI ambitions. While competitors leverage vast data resources for training and improvement, Apple's privacy-first approach creates additional constraints.
"If you're just looking at it from a business perspective," Brownlee explains, "they make a ton of money selling hardware, selling the services and the things attached to that hardware... It's kinda hard to draw a straight line from Apple Intelligence is successful to Apple making way more money, especially when they're such a privacy-focused company as well."
This tension between privacy commitments and AI development needs represents a fundamental challenge without easy resolution. Unlike hardware innovations that can be perfected before release, AI capabilities typically improve through continuous learning and data collection—precisely the activities Apple has positioned itself against.
Future Implications
While Apple's financial position remains strong, the company's struggle to adapt its proven playbook to the AI era raises questions about its long-term competitive positioning. The technology analyst draws concerning parallels to once-dominant companies that missed pivotal technological transitions.
"Remember Nokia? They were huge, and then they kind of just completely missed the jump to smartphones, and now, we don't think about Nokia anymore. I'm sure you remember BlackBerry... we thought they were way too big to fail, but then they failed to adapt in some way to the changing tides of technology." Brownlee
As AI increasingly becomes central to consumer technology experiences, Apple's ability to overcome these structural challenges will determine whether its second mover strategy can evolve—or if the company will continue falling behind in the intelligence race that's reshaping the tech landscape.
