Google mocks Apple's delayed AI features in new 'coming soon' ad
In a new advertisement for the coming Pixel 10 smartphone, Google took a shot at Apple's delayed launch of its AI features. Apple announced an overhauled, "more personalized" Siri powered by Apple Intelligence at the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2024, but has yet to roll the feature out.
"If you buy a new phone because of a feature that's 'coming soon,' but it's been 'coming soon' for a full year, you could change your definition of 'soon' — or you could just change your phone," the ad's narrator said.
The ad then flashed the text, "Ask more of your phone," along with the launch date of August 20.
With the camera roving up and down the sides of a jet black phone, Google's ad evoked the sleek futurism of previous Apple campaigns. The company soundtracked its ad to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's "The Next Episode." Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment.
Apple launched its official AI bid, a suite of features called Apple Intelligence, in 2024. Some of the features announced at WWDC were included in iOS 18, which launched that September. Others, like the Siri integrations for Apple Intelligence, never came.
In March, Apple officially announced that it was delaying the Siri overhaul, a rarity for the company.
"It's going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year," spokesperson Jacqueline Roy told the unaffiliated Apple blog Daring Fireball at the time.
Apple also made a YouTube ad private that showed Bella Ramsey using the still unreleased Siri features. Apple is now facing a lawsuit over how it advertised the AI features on the iPhone 16.
CEO Tim Cook gave a status update on the overhauled Siri during Apple's earnings call last week.
"We're making good progress on a more personalized Siri, and we do expect to release the features next year," Cook said.
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