Apple’s falling further and further behind in the AI arms race — and the iPhone 17 launch proves it
By Tom Pritchard
Copyright tomsguide
Skip to main content
Tom’s Guide
Newsletters
View Profile
Search Tom’s Guide
You May Like
Time’s Ticking! This Will Make or Break the iPhone 17
iPhone vs Galaxy vs Pixel: Which phone is the winner of the Tom’s Guide AI Phone Face-Off?
I’m not upgrading to the iPhone 17 this year — here’s what’s holding me back
Phone Insights
Phone Best Picks
Phone Deals
Phone Face-Offs
Phone How-Tos
Phone Reviews
Network Carriers
Android Phones
Google Phones
Motorola Phones
OnePlus Phones
Samsung Phones
Nothing Phone
TV Best Picks
TV Face-Offs
Audio Insights
Audio Best Picks
Audio Deals
Audio Face-Offs
Audio How-Tos
Audio Reviews
Over-Ear Headphones
Bluetooth Speakers
Entertainment
Streaming Devices
Prime Video
Paramount Plus
Playstation
Gaming Peripherals
Connections
Computing Insights
Computing Best Picks
Computing Deals
Computing Face-Offs
Computing How-Tos
Computing News
Computing Reviews
VPN Best Picks
VPN Face-Offs
VPN How-Tos
VPN Reviews
Operating Systems
Malware & Adware
Smart Glasses
Chromebooks
Gaming Laptops
Apple Desktops
Gaming Desktops
Android Tablets
Computing Brands
AI Insights
AI Best Picks
AI Face-Offs
Google Gemini
Apple Intelligence
Mattress Best Picks
Mattress Deals
Mattress Face-Offs
Mattress How-Tos
Mattress News
Mattress Reviews
Mattress Care
Mattress Toppers
Pillows & Bedding
Smartwatches
Fitness Trackers
Smart Rings
Apple Watch
Home Insights
Home Best Picks
Home Face-Offs
Home How-Tos
Home Reviews
Home Topics
Home Appliances
Home Office
Home Security
Home Brands
Popular Brands
View Phones
Phone Insights
Phone Best Picks
Phone Deals
Phone Face-Offs
Phone How-Tos
Phone Reviews
Network Carriers
View Network Carriers
Android Phones
View Android Phones
Google Phones
Motorola Phones
OnePlus Phones
Samsung Phones
Nothing Phone
TV Best Picks
TV Face-Offs
Audio Insights
View Audio Insights
Audio Best Picks
Audio Deals
Audio Face-Offs
Audio How-Tos
Audio Reviews
Headphones
View Headphones
Over-Ear Headphones
View Speakers
Bluetooth Speakers
Entertainment
View Entertainment
View Streaming
Streaming Devices
Prime Video
Paramount Plus
View Gaming
Playstation
Gaming Peripherals
Word Games
Connections
View Computing
Computing Insights
Computing Best Picks
Computing Deals
Computing Face-Offs
Computing How-Tos
Computing News
Computing Reviews
VPN Best Picks
VPN Face-Offs
VPN How-Tos
VPN Reviews
View Hardware
View Software
Operating Systems
View Security
Malware & Adware
View VR & AR
Smart Glasses
View Laptops
Chromebooks
Gaming Laptops
View Desktops
Apple Desktops
Gaming Desktops
View Tablets
Android Tablets
Computing Brands
AI Insights
AI Best Picks
AI Face-Offs
AI Engines
Google Gemini
Apple Intelligence
View Wellness
Mattresses
View Mattresses
Mattress Best Picks
Mattress Deals
Mattress Face-Offs
Mattress How-Tos
Mattress News
Mattress Reviews
Mattress Care
Mattress Toppers
Pillows & Bedding
View Fitness
Smartwatches
Fitness Trackers
Smart Rings
Apple Watch
Home Insights
Home Best Picks
Home Face-Offs
Home How-Tos
Home Reviews
Home Topics
Home Appliances
Home Office
Home Security
View Outdoors
Home Brands
Popular Brands
Exclusive Apple Interview
iPhone 17 Pro
Wordle Today
Best laptops
Best Mattress
Don’t miss these
Time’s Ticking! This Will Make or Break the iPhone 17
iPhone vs Galaxy vs Pixel: Which phone is the winner of the Tom’s Guide AI Phone Face-Off?
I’m not upgrading to the iPhone 17 this year — here’s what’s holding me back
I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro Max for a year — here’s why I don’t plan on upgrading to the iPhone 17 Pro Max
7 Rumored iPhone 17 Upgrades You Need to Know About
iPhone 17 — 6 reasons to buy (and 3 reasons to skip)
I’ve been testing the iOS 26 public beta — what I like and what I don’t about the Apple Intelligence additions
iPhone 17 launch — 5 burning questions about Apple’s upcoming models
The Apple vs Google war is over — they need to join forces to survive against OpenAI
iPhone 17 Event live updates — everything Apple announced and our reactions to iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and AirPods Pro 3
iOS 26 — do you need to upgrade your iPhone this fall?
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: which will be the new flagship king?
The iPhone 17 Air may be great — but I’m not sure if Apple’s customers really want it
I put an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel through a 6-round AI assistant face-off — and here’s the winner
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max: Here’s the biggest expected upgrades
Apple’s falling further and further behind in the AI arms race — and the iPhone 17 launch proves it
Tom Pritchard
16 September 2025
The lack of AI news at the iPhone 17 launch was concerning
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
After the iPhone 17 launch, it almost feels as though Apple has forgotten about AI. The conference was missing any serious mention of AI. While iOS 26 is set to add some upgraded AI features to all phones running Apple Intelligence, there’s nothing unique or special coming to iPhone 17. And that’s a really serious problem for Apple.
Earlier this year, I wrote that WWDC 2025 would be a break for Apple Intelligence, because it was Apple’s chance to show it was serious about AI. As it turned out, the switch to iOS 26 does come with a bunch of AI-powered features, though they are primarily upgrades to stuff we have already — like writing tools or translation.
Apple is falling behind, and it’s absolutely no surprise that users are turning to different AI apps to help fill that void. To the point where Google Gemini is now top of the App Store.
You may like
Time’s Ticking! This Will Make or Break the iPhone 17
iPhone vs Galaxy vs Pixel: Which phone is the winner of the Tom’s Guide AI Phone Face-Off?
I’m not upgrading to the iPhone 17 this year — here’s what’s holding me back
Apple still hasn’t delivered all the promised AI features from last year
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
The elephant in the room is that Apple would have a hard time announcing new features because it still hasn’t delivered all the promised features from last year. The fact that Siri’s AI upgrade still had to be delayed by so much is a stain on Apple’s record.
The update was supposed to add some AI smarts to Apple’s voice assistant, letting it work across different apps and better understand context during conversations. However, behind the scenes reports claim that retrofitting Siri into an AI chatbot wasn’t as easy as Apple apparently hoped. Initially, the upgrade was supposed to arrive with iOS 18.4 back in March, but it has now been delayed until sometime in Spring 2026.
With such a considerable delay, you can almost understand why Apple would hold back on developing new features when one of its most important AI upgrades is still in limbo. You don’t have to imagine too hard to think about the criticism Apple would be subject to if that did happen.
But at the same time, the fact that Apple’s AI development seems to have stalled, because it’s reportedly having such a hard time with Siri, is an even worse look. Apple’s general opacity and its unwillingness to discuss internal matters definitely doesn’t help matters.
Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
The iPhone 17 launch could have been a chance to reassure people that work on AI was still happening — but instead, we have Google Gemini climbing the App Store charts. Not to mention the persistent rumors that Apple may be turning to Google for help in actually getting the Siri LLM models up and running.
iPhone 17 should have been a major launching point for new AI features
(Image credit: Apple)
Whichever way you look at it, Apple wasn’t going to come out of the iPhone 17 launch looking absolutely perfect. So it should have actually paid attention to what its biggest rivals have been doing, and used it as an opportunity to launch some big new AI features.
If you think back to the last few phone launches from Samsung or Google, you will have seen a lot of emphasis on AI and how the phone is going to benefit from brand new features. Even though Samsung has two flagship launches in a year, there’s usually some kind of AI news at each Unpacked.
You may like
Time’s Ticking! This Will Make or Break the iPhone 17
iPhone vs Galaxy vs Pixel: Which phone is the winner of the Tom’s Guide AI Phone Face-Off?
I’m not upgrading to the iPhone 17 this year — here’s what’s holding me back
Sometimes those upgrades are smaller, like we saw with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7. Back in July, Samsung revealed AI features that included enhancements to Audio Eraser or Gemini Live’s Screenshare feature. But back at the Galaxy S25 launch, we saw more substantial features like the introduction of Now Brief, cross-app actions and other smaller updates like improved photo searching capabilities.
Google’s whole deal is adding exclusive AI features to new Pixels, aided by the Tensor G5 chipset on Pixel 10. Camera Coach promises to help you improve your photography skills, while Ask Photos takes all the actual effort out of AI image editing. All you need to do is tell the Photos app what you want, via text or speech, and the AI will make those changes for you.
These are not massive, industry-changing upgrades on a level with the launch of ChatGPT, but they show that both companies are still taking AI seriously beyond “this phone has AI on it.” And they’re hardly alone. I can hardly think of any phone maker that hasn’t emphasized AI in some shape or form, making Apple the real outlier.
Bottom line: Apple needs help, because it feels like it’s giving up
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Apple has always been a very closed off company, and it’s almost unheard of to get any official look behind the scenes. Instead, we’re left with rumors and reports about what’s going on, only picking up half the story in the process. But what we’re seeing from the outside doesn’t paint a positive picture for Apple’s AI ambitions.
Apple definitely needs help, because clearly doing the whole chatbot thing on its own has not worked out so far. Thankfully, it sounds like they may be taking better measures to fix the issue. Not just by adding ChatGPT support to Siri, as we saw last year, but by outsourcing the whole Siri upgrade to a Google-made LLM. This wouldn’t be Apple using Gemini, but it would be the next best thing.
Considering Google’s successes with mobile AI already, and the fact that Gemini has risen beyond even the likes of ChatGPT, should hopefully mean that Apple can finally course correct before it falls so far behind that it has to completely give up the idea of being a mobile AI power.
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
More from Tom’s Guide
iPhone 17 delays — how long will you have to wait if you order today?
This iPhone 18 rumor may make you want to cave and buy the new iPhone 17 now
iPhone 17 Pro is missing this big rumored feature — and now I think we know why
Check Amazon
Tom Pritchard
Social Links Navigation
UK Phones Editor
Tom is the Tom’s Guide’s UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It’s long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Time’s Ticking! This Will Make or Break the iPhone 17
iPhone vs Galaxy vs Pixel: Which phone is the winner of the Tom’s Guide AI Phone Face-Off?
I’m not upgrading to the iPhone 17 this year — here’s what’s holding me back
I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro Max for a year — here’s why I don’t plan on upgrading to the iPhone 17 Pro Max
7 Rumored iPhone 17 Upgrades You Need to Know About
iPhone 17 — 6 reasons to buy (and 3 reasons to skip)
Latest in iPhones
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max: Time for an upgrade?
iOS 26 is live: Try these 7 features first
iOS 26 review: Great new features and a brand new look
How to download iOS 26 — your guide to installing Apple’s latest software update
iPhone 17 delays — how long will you have to wait if you order today?
iPhone 17 Pro is missing this big rumored feature — and now I think we know why
Latest in Opinion
I almost got hit with a phishing attack and a malicious app last week — here’s how I knew not to click
I use ChatGPT every day — but I can’t stand this one feature
Apple’s falling further and further behind in the AI arms race — and the iPhone 17 launch proves it
After years of waking up at night, I’ve figured out the 5 things that help me stay asleep
Canon is bringing back a 2016 camera because Kendall Jenner made it go viral, but here’s the compact I recommend instead
I love my AirPods Pro 2 but I won’t be buying the AirPods Pro 3 — here’s why
LATEST ARTICLES
Hackers are using Google search results to spread fake apps filled with malware — don’t fall for this
My favorite Pilates instructor just shared these 10 exercises to strengthen your core and glutes, while improving your spine mobility
Protein and muscle health expert debunks the 30/30 rule, and says this is what matters most
I toured Apple’s secret audio lab to see how it built and perfected the AirPods Pro 3
You won’t see this twist coming: Paramount Plus has the perfect psychological thriller streaming now
Tom’s Guide is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
Terms and conditions
Contact Future’s experts
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Advertise with us
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
Please login or signup to comment
Please wait…
