Apple exec Craig Federighi takes swipe at AI PCs: "I guess we missed the boat"

AI
(Image credit: Apple)

WWDC 2024 had a big focus on Apple Intelligence, and while the company has been slow to revamp Siri and keep up with the current Chatbot craze, Apple's own "machine learning" has been in its products for years.

The technology has been leveraging the Neural Engine since 2017 on the iPhone, and has been part of the Mac since the Apple Silicon transition began, and Craig Federighi, Apple's VP of software engineering, pointed out as much at the company's Talk Show Live interview.

As seen in the video below, Federighi said "That’s been the funny bit now with the AI PC. It’s like someone discovered the idea of a neural engine this year."

The Talk Show Live From WWDC 2024 - YouTube The Talk Show Live From WWDC 2024 - YouTube
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Apple exec pokes fun at AI computers

"Nothing like what we’ve done, so obviously, in the phones for many years, and the first M1 Mac that we introduced in 2020 and every Mac we’ve introduced since," Federighi continued.

"I guess we missed the boat to name it an AI PC because we’ve been making great ones this whole time. But that’s not the point. They’re great Macs."

While some have suggested the unification of Apple Silicon across iPad and Mac could lead to a hybrid OS that runs across both, Federighi said that while he "loves" his iPad, he's not looking for them to become one device.

"When you use your iPad Pro right now, it’s the best iPad experience you can ever imagine, and that’s worth a lot to a lot of people."

"I mean, that is a great experience. And we want to keep making iPad the best iPad it can be. We are not trying to create a Windows 8 PC or whatever."

iPhone 15 Pro | $999 at Apple

iPhone 15 Pro | $999 at Apple

The latest Pro iPhone model is likely to get all the AI features showcased at WWDC this year.

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Lloyd Coombes
Contributor

Lloyd Coombes is a freelance writer with a specialism in Apple tech. From his first, hand-me-down iMac, he’s been working with Apple products for over a decade, and while he loves his iPhone and Mac, the iPad will always have his heart for reasons he still can’t quite fathom. Since moving from blogging to writing professionally, Lloyd’s work can be found at TechRadar, Macworld, TechAdvisor and plenty more. He’s also the Editor in Chief at GGRecon.com, and on the rare occasion he’s not writing you’ll find him spending time with his son, or working hard at the gym (while wearing an Apple Watch, naturally). You can find him on Twitter @lloydcoombes.