Why Apple Lied About Its AI Plans (And Got Caught)

The Truth Behind Apple Intelligence: Vaporware, Hype, and Lawsuits

Apple promised the future—and then ghosted it.

In 2024, Apple unveiled “Apple Intelligence,” a suite of AI-powered features that was supposed to revolutionize the iPhone, supercharge Siri, and place the tech giant back on top in the AI arms race. They showed us slick demos, ran expensive ads, and pitched a vision of an iPhone that knew us better than we knew ourselves.

And then… nothing.

🤖 The Great AI Disappearing Act

By the time iPhone 16 hit shelves in October 2024, Apple Intelligence was basically MIA. The generative writing tools? Not there. The upgraded Siri? Still dumb. The much-hyped “Genoji”? A cucumber-faced emoji that felt more like a meme than innovation.

Months later, almost everything meaningful about Apple Intelligence remains missing, delayed to some vague date in 2025. So what happened?

Turns out, Apple Intelligence wasn’t just late. It was never ready to begin with.

📉 Why Apple Broke Its Own Rules

Apple has always been cautious. Unlike competitors, it doesn’t announce features until they’re almost done. It's part of what built their reputation for polish, privacy, and trust.

But AI changed everything.

Apple was late to the generative AI party—OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta were already making headlines and stealing mindshare. Meanwhile, Apple stayed silent… until the June 2024 WWDC, when it suddenly dropped the Apple Intelligence bombshell.

Not because it had something ready—but because it couldn’t afford to stay quiet any longer.

🧠 This Was About Shareholders, Not Users

By mid-2024, the word “AI” had appeared in over 40% of all S&P 500 earnings calls. Investors weren’t just interested—they were demanding it. Companies without a clear AI roadmap were being punished in the markets.

And Apple? Its hardware sales were stalling. iPhone revenue had dipped by $2.7 billion, and the Vision Pro was still niche. Services were under legal fire, threatening a major source of income.

So Apple played the game. It sold the idea of Apple Intelligence, not the actual software.

The result? Apple’s stock rose. Wall Street cheered. Mission accomplished… until users realized they’d been sold vaporware.

⚠️ Now They're Being Sued

In March 2025, Apple was hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging false advertising. The claim? That Apple knowingly promoted features it hadn’t finished and used them to justify charging premium prices for the iPhone 16.

Customers were promised “transformative” technology. Instead, they got… a $1,200 emoji generator.

Bloomberg and Axios both confirmed that Apple’s AI team was facing serious internal delays and dysfunction. One Apple insider reportedly called the situation a “crisis.”

💡 Vaporware at Scale

This isn’t just a delay—it’s vaporware: a term used when companies promote non-existent features to drum up hype, investor confidence, or buy time.

We’ve seen this move before from struggling startups or flailing tech companies. But this time, it was Apple, the most valuable company in the world.

And the strategy worked… briefly.

💸 Hype Is the New ROI

Why would a company as disciplined as Apple stoop to this? Because AI isn’t just a product category anymore—it’s a performance metric.

Investors aren’t rewarding working products. They’re rewarding the promise of AI. The mere mention of “LLMs,” “AI agents,” or “next-gen intelligence” is enough to move stocks—even if those features don’t exist yet.

Apple wasn’t trying to beat OpenAI or Google to market. They were trying to prove to shareholders that they still belonged in the AI conversation.

🙄 The Consumer Problem

Here’s the kicker: most consumers didn’t ask for this. Surveys and usage patterns suggest that while investors are obsessed with AI, users are confused, indifferent, or annoyed.

When Google rolled out AI overviews in Search, the internet mocked them. When Apple pitched automated email responses and contextual Siri, users wondered, “Who actually wants this?”

The real problem? Companies like Apple are building for shareholders, not users. And now, the trust they built over decades is taking a hit.

🚨 What Happens Next?

Apple says major Apple Intelligence features are coming “sometime in 2025.” But Bloomberg reports a year-long internal delay, and even then, it's unclear if the tech will match what was originally promised.

What’s also clear: the AI bubble is driving companies into risky territory. Overhyping, underdelivering, and hoping the stock doesn’t tank in between.

Apple isn’t alone. But because they’ve always been the “we don’t bluff” company, the fallout hits different. When Apple fakes it, it’s not just another miss—it’s a betrayal.

Apple didn’t lie because they’re bad at AI. They lied because Wall Street demanded a story—and Apple told one.

But that story now has consequences: lawsuits, delays, customer disappointment, and reputational damage. And in the end, no amount of market spin can substitute for actual innovation.

Stay sharp and skeptical—because when even Apple starts bluffing, you know the game has changed.

⚡ Keep your tech radar locked with Land of Geek Magazine for more truth bombs from the world of innovation, hype, and hardware.

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