Microsoft and Apple stumbles could boost OpenAI
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Nearly a year after laying out a vision for how generative AI could fundamentally alter the way personal computers operate, both Microsoft and Apple have failed to deliver.
Why it matters: The fumbles leave an opening for an upstart — possibly OpenAI — to deliver a device that harnesses the power of generative AI in a way that makes computing meaningfully better.
Driving the news: After months of delays, Microsoft on Friday finally released Recall, the AI-aided search feature that had been delayed for privacy concerns.
- As part of Friday's update, Microsoft also added an improved local search and "click-to-do" feature that both run locally on PCs.
- The features are nice-to-haves, hinting at the potential of on-device AI, but so far none are game-changers.
What they're saying: Microsoft's Windows and devices head Pavan Davuluri promised more to come, but was vague on what to expect — or when.
- "Copilot plus PCs are going to be materially different as we head forward," Davuluri said.
Apple has faced its share of delays as well, with Apple Intelligence bringing modest improvements to Macs, phones and tablets, but failing to deliver a more powerful Siri that would pull together highly personalized information from across email, contacts and other applications.
The big picture: These sputtering starts stand in contrast to the bolder vision both companies laid out last year — one in which local device-based AI does for personal information what ChatGPT does for broader knowledge.
- In one demo at last year's developer conference, Apple previewed Apple Intelligence answering "When does my mom's flight land?" by drawing upon various pieces of knowledge across the system within multiple apps.
- Microsoft promised a similarly bold AI overhaul when it unveiled the Copilot+ PC last May. "We're entering this new era where computers can not only understand us, but can actually anticipate what we want and our intent," CEO Satya Nadella told reporters.
Between the lines: With Microsoft and Apple thus far failing to deliver on their bigger visions, the most powerful AI app on Macs and PCs remains the ability to summon cloud-based assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
- OpenAI, meanwhile, is moving forward with its own secretive hardware effort. Sam Altman has been vague on just what he and Jony Ive are up to, but has dangled a few hints.
- "If there's something amazing to do, we'll do it," Altman said in 2023, before Ive confirmed some type of device was in the works last year. Altman wouldn't say what the company is building, but did say it won't be a phone.
Yes, but: OpenAI's device is still likely years off, potentially giving Microsoft and Apple some time to get things right.
- "It's a long way away," Altman said of the hardware product, during an on-stage interview with Axios last September. Altman noted it took OpenAI more than four and a half years to ship its first product, "and I thought that was fast."
