Apple made a major misstep with the way that it handled the delay of Apple Intelligence features for Siri, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. Announcing the delay through a press statement was a bad decision, and Apple should instead have gone through official channels.
Kuo referenced the well-known “Antennagate” PR crisis when the iPhone 4 launched in 2010, and the way that then Apple CEO Steve Jobs handled it. Jobs personally responded to multiple customer emails, and then Apple held a press conference to address concerns about the iPhone 4’s cellular signal. Jobs ended up announcing that Apple would provide free bumpers for all iPhone 4 uses to mitigate the issue, and allow customers who were still unhappy to return their iPhones.
The implication in Kuo’s statement is that Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives should follow Jobs’ example, giving customers more insight into what’s going wrong with Siri development.
I think the worst part is that when it came time to admit that Apple Intelligence (Siri) development wasn’t going as planned, Apple chose to break the news to the world through an unofficial channel. This is how the world’s most valuable company handles a PR crisis.
What should Apple have done? The way Steve Jobs personally addressed the iPhone 4 antennagate PR crisis back in the day provides a great example.
Kuo acknowledges that it takes time to develop artificial intelligence services, and that Apple’s early announcement of Apple Intelligence Siri features at WWDC 2024 is understandable “given the pressure from the board and shareholders.” With the company unable to deliver the feature set in the promised timeline, Apple needs to provide a more concrete response.
In the midst of Antennagate, Jobs was transparent about Apple’s position and offered a concrete solution. Jobs said that Apple did not “fully understand if there were problems” when the iPhone 4 first came out, but that the company had a responsibility to educate as a “leader in the smartphone world.” “We’re not perfect, and we’re working our asses off,” Jobs said.
Back in 2012, Cook did personally address Apple Maps shortcomings in iOS 6, penning an apology letter to customers. He told customers that he was sorry, and he provided insight into Apple’s work to make the Maps app better. Given the uproar over the delayed Siri overhaul, it could make sense for Cook to again speak to customers directly.
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