Last updated on November 23rd, 2025 at 11:50 am
Look, I will be frank with you; when Apple declared the Apple Intelligence that was last year I eyebrows-Raised. Another tech company looking to get on the AI train, uh? However, after observing what they are really doing, I believe that they are in an entirely different game as the rest.
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The Privacy Thing Is Not What Marketing.
The following issue made my attention: when comparing Google and OpenAI, which are contributing billions of data points to huge cloud servers: Apple constructed a 3 billion parameter model that only works on your phone. That is tiny in comparison to hundreds of billions that ChatGPT boasts of, however, that is the thing.
I tried this personally on my prone iPhone 16. When I told it to write an email again, update me on several of my messages, or create and image – it never left my machine. Zero server requests. My data stayed in my pocket. And honestly? On daily chores, it is quick enough such that I do not notice that I am not connected to the cloud.
In cases where Apple (needs more power), they resort to the use of what is referred to as Private Cloud Compute. Here, the way it works is this: the data is encrypted, processed in that single action after which it is sent to the trash. No storage. No training data collection. No fine print of using this to better our models.
They are also betting on Hardware and not Hype.
Apple has recently released the M5 chip with specifications that are off the scale, 4 times as fast as M4 in terms of AI, and the Neural Engine is inference much faster than previously. It would be a 500-billion four-year investment that entails the addition of a new plant in Houston.
It is here that the light bulb came on to me, Apple is not trying to create the smartest AI. They are developing AI that can optimally be used in their machines. It is the same script they applied in the iPhone – dominate the entire stack, hardware to the software.
As the industry competitors furiously work on how they can build larger models in the cloud, Apple asks: What is it like we build AI that does not work with a cloud at all?
The Angle of the Developer Is the Compromise.
In WWDC 2025, Apple was rather sneaky brilliant, they announced the foundation models framework. It now takes three lines of Swift code to access the on-device AI of Apple.
I spoke with an acquaintance who created an exercise app with this. Earlier on, he used to pay the API fees of OpenAI each time a user created a workout plan. Now? Zero cost. The AI runs locally. His app works offline. The fitness data of the users do not move out of their phone.
This is already being used by apps such as SmartGym and Stoic to develop features that would have been thousands of API calls expensive in the past. It is not only cheaper, that is a completely other business model.
Where Apple Still Playing Catch-Up.
Be real with me though – Siri remains embarrassingly poor. I questioned mine last week which had won the 2024 election and it just shrugged and gave me web results. This is the reason why in its apparent bid to incorporate Gemini in the next Siri update, Apple is paying Google one billion dollars a year to license Gemini.
That’s both smart and telling. Intelligent since they are not allowing ego to stand in the way. Telling because it demonstrates that Apple itself does not have competitive models in terms of conversational AI.
Their aspects such as a more contextually active Siri that is capable of remembering your dialogue and what you did with all your apps continue to get postponed. That is the danger of their strategy: on-device AI does have its limits, and in some situations, raw cloud power is needed.
The Bigger Picture
Here is what I think after several months of this, Apple is not in the race to win the AI race that everybody else is participating in. They are creating something new, AI that respects privacy, is offline, and gets better as their chips become better.
Is it smarter? Maybe. It will not write the most creative poem or get the answer to the most difficult trivia question. However, every time I am rewriting an email in the air, and there is no WiFi, or I am telling my phone to give me a summary of a lengthy thread, but I do not care where that data is being sent, well, it feels like a very smart thing.
It is not about whether the AI of Apple is the most potent. Whether their bet on local processing and privacy reason is more important than we believe. According to my real use of it? I believe that they could be on to something.
Moreover, as that M5 chip becomes available in more gadgets and creators continue working on the Foundation Models platform, this strategy may age better than any one could have imagined. We’ll see.
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I’m a technology writer with a passion for AI and digital marketing. I create engaging and useful content that bridges the gap between complex technology concepts and digital technologies. My writing makes the process easy and curious. and encourage participation I continue to research innovation and technology. Let’s connect and talk technology! LinkedIn for more insights and collaboration opportunities: