Tim Cook should handle the Apple Intelligence crisis like Steve Jobs handled Antennagate

Apple's failure to roll out Apple Intelligence on time is reminiscent of Antennagate, a controversy Apple founder Steve Jobs tackled in 2010 with the iPhone 4. Perhaps current Apple CEO Tim Cook should take a page out of Jobs' book on how to manage a company crisis effectively.

For those who don't know, Apple announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June 2024, with the company going on to tell consumers its implementation of AI would be coming to its latest generation of products. Apple showed Apple Intelligence working in a variety of different ways through advertisements (some now hidden) that showed new ways to interact with its AI that would benefit the user. Unfortunately, the most impressive features of Apple Intelligence, such as Siri's deep iOS integration upgrade, would bring it up to a similar level of performance as other AI services, such as ChatGPT.

However, those features are yet to be released, and now we have learned Apple is so far behind in development that Apple Intelligence won't arrive in its entirety until sometime next year. The problem? Apple marketed its latest generation of devices with the promise of Apple Intelligence features, and while some have been released, the biggest sellers, such as the Siri upgrade, are not present, nor will they be until the iPhone 17 lineup has already been launched. To many, this seems like a bait-and-switch tactic, or perhaps more accurately, Apple overpromising on features and then severely underdelivering.

The delay of Apple Intelligence is nothing short of a PR crisis for Apple, and perhaps one of the worst aspects of this whole debacle is the lack of accountability the company is taking, particularly by its senior executives, who have been silent on the public-facing side of things. These concerns have been echoed by prominent industry analysts such as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo, who recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts about the issue.

Gurman explained that multiple senior Apple executives are responsible for Apple Intelligence's failure and that it's pretty rare to see individuals or an entire team let go. Ming-Chi Kuo made an interesting comparison between the PR nightmare Apple is experiencing now and the one the company faced under the leadership of the late Steve Jobs and how he tackled the Antennagate problem.

For those who don't know, Antennagate was a scandal Apple faced in 2010. Users discovered that placing their hand or finger over the antenna would considerably lessen the signal strength. Jobs decided to hold a rare press conference to address the issue, where he admitted Apple isn't perfect, neither are iPhones, and ultimately took accountability for the problem, enabling him to reframe the issue to Apple's benefit.

What consumers need to see is Apple executives, including, and most importantly, CEO Tim Cook, come out at a press conference and take public accountability for the delay in the product that was used a guise to sell the latest generation of devices. By doing this, Apple will regain some control over the marketing nightmare they are currently experiencing while also regaining some consumer trust from those who respect it when people admit their faults. Additionally, this would be a fantastic opportunity to provide some much-needed context on the current situation surrounding the delay.

If done correctly, with some grace and apparent accountability, Apple could spin this situation to its benefit or, at the very least, reframe the issue to how it wants it to be perceived. This would reduce the current tsunami of negative press, which appears to be much needed at this time.