It’s a common refrain that Apple’s behind in AI, and while that’s arguable, the company’s ambitions for AI are mind-boggling.
Take the smarter Siri, which Tim Cook just confirmed is on track for release “next year.”
Yeah, OK, we’ve heard that before — smarter Siri was promised in 2024, then 2025, and it’s still MIA.
But look at what the smarter Siri will be able to do — it’ll be an entirely new way of controlling and interacting with your devices.
The smarter Siri will transform your Apple gadgets into truly smart assistants, where previously complex tasks can be triggered with simple voice commands. It’ll work across different apps, remember a ton of important stuff about you, and do it all in a privacy-protected way.
AI has already changed the way I search: I no longer type cryptic lists of keywords into Google. I now ask it natural-language questions, and it often returns accurate answers.
The AI brainiac Siri promises to do this and a LOT more. It sounds awesome, frankly, and I can’t wait for it. If Apple delivers on its plans, which admittedly is not a given, it’ll be as transformative as the GUI — and likely even more so.
Also in today’s newsletter:
How much money do you make every three months? Apple just raked in more than $100 billion. It’s a number so big I have a hard time wrapping my noodle around it. Most of it came from the new iPhone 17 lineup, but plenty of Apple’s other product lines are doing boffo business, too.
EarFun’s new Air Pro 4 Plus earbuds cost just $80, but our hands-on review finds they are credible alternatives to the latest AirPods Pro 3 (which cost $249) — with some caveats, ofc. They offer fantastic sound and great value.
The latest episode of The CultCast podcast is up, and we have a lot of fun discussing OLED iPads, buttonless iPhones and the game-changing feature of the latest Apple Watch Series 11.
Unfortunately, the latest season of Slow Horses is beyond dreadful, but author Mick Herron’s latest show, Down Cemetery Road, is getting good reviews — and we concur! I’m hoping to check it out myself this weekend.
Almost nobody's interested in Apple’s self-service repair program, according to yesterday’s poll results. Most seem to think such things are best left to the pros. But what’s surprising is that some of you reported great experiences. Most people are scared — but maybe you shouldn't be!
Speaking of scared … Happy Halloween, everybody!
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Tweets of the day
the 2018 iPad Pro might actually be the best aged Apple product EVER
- new design still being used today
- insanely good A12X chip
- 120Hz display (3 years before the iPhone got it)
- USB-C 3.1 (5 years before the iPhone got it)
- still fully supported on iOS 26— #System Settings (#@app_settings)
10:44 AM • Oct 31, 2025
Apple Sr. Director Jeff Norris on how Vision Pro persona went from looking like cadavers to life-like avatars:
"First thing I'd want to point out is that we changed the the whole rendering approach of Personas to a completely new technique that's based on Gaussian splats."
The
— #Bilawal Sidhu (#@bilawalsidhu)
2:35 PM • Oct 31, 2025
Wallpaper of the day
💡
“The softest light can still carve meaning in the hardest dark.”Soft Light Wallpapers , Only mobile devices
— #Aesthetic Wallpaper (#@abcAesthetica)
11:35 AM • Oct 29, 2025
One more thing ...
Simplicity isn’t just a visual style. It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity. To be truly simple, you have to go really deep. For example, to have no screws on something, you can end up having a product that is so convoluted and so complex. The better way is to go deeper with the simplicity, to understand everything about it and how it’s manufactured.
Today’s poll
Smarter Siri: Yay or nay?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Have you tried Apple’s self-service repair program?
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