How big is John Gruber, a must-see blogger for anyone who cares about Apple, whose bold fireball site is?
Here is one way to measure Gruber's big dealness: For the past decade, Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference has been followed by Apple's top executives on stage with Gruber for interviews.
But this is not this year.
Most likely reason: In March, Gruber wrote a poignant essay about Apple's inability to offer AI upgrades to Siri Voice Assistant.
Gruber says this is not just a sign that they missed the shipping deadline, but something was deeply evident in Apple's leadership. If that wasn't fixed, he wrote, “The ride is over.”
Apple doesn't offer the new Siri yet, but it claims it's still in the works. And its absence became one of the biggest stories to come out of the developer conference held in June.
Much smaller story – appealing to media and tech nerds like me, but Apple gave Gruber a brush off. What is it saying about Apple's thinking so far?
“I feel that deciding not to do my show this year was a complete victory for me and a huge loss for them,” Gruber says.
I spoke to Gruber about all of that, and in the latest episode of My Channels Podcast about how to run the App Store.
You can read the edited excerpts from the conversation below.
Peter Kafka: Technology has traditional wisdom They are behind in AI, so Apple is in trouble. Are you buying it?
John Gruber: Given the breathtaking speed at which AI is moving, I think there is a chance they can do it. I think technology could lead to new class devices that aren't phones or laptops.
But even at this rate, we have been away for years from replacing devices we know with some kind of new format.
and Openai is currently collaborating with former Apple Design Guru Jony ive A certain development New mysterious products – But so far, their message is,This will not replace your phone. You still have the phone. ”
I think that's a very interesting way to fram it – just like your phone didn't replace your laptop, it doesn't replace your phone.
It's very easy to catch up when something new comes out. The phone call is clearly the biggest thing that has happened to AI. And the phone was just a huge ocean change. Everyone has a phone. Apple has become the wealthiest company in the world. But Apple is still making gobs of money selling laptops. I'm recording this show with you on my laptop now. I don't know how to work without a laptop.
Apple Play appears to be: We make phones that billions of people use. Maybe they have some AI features. But the main ideas are: If you want to use chatgpt, etc., use a mobile phone..
I think last year's developer conference spent 40 of the 100 minutes on Apple Intelligence. I think Apple itself needs to present itself as if we were on the forefront of this whole thing.
Apple did it for years.
But the most memorable thing Apple showed off a year ago was the smarter Siri – What you can sift through your emails and texts and tell you when your mom's flight arrives. but Even if they were running the ads for it, it never happened. And in March, you wrote a blog post about it. Something is rotten in Cupertino.
You like Apple, you like Apple products. But by the end of the piece, you say this isn't just they missed the shipping deadline – this is cultural corruption.
Is this a real problem? Or is this okay if they just announced early and they wait a year and deliver in the time frame they predicted?
I think it's a sign of a real problem throughout the Siri area.
The basic premise of the company is that if they hire the best engineers and designers who care about their products, the first reason they want to work there is that they want to create great art.
Siri was this obvious exception. By the mid-2010s, Siri was just like annoyed people. And a lot has gotten worse over the years. There are commands that can be given to siri, which was used for the work that stopped working.
Then, when an LLM explosion occurs, there is this other thing all of a sudden [that can have] A real conversation. Then you go back to siri and it's ridiculous.
It really feels like it's been over a decade late. It has been a mystery within the company for a long time. Because everyone who works there knows that the bar is excellence.
And you look, the Siri team is over there and has been turning the wheels for 10 years with sub-products. And it's not this obscure technology that almost no one uses – the phone has a dedicated button.
You write this ferocious piece – and it's especially ferocious that comes from you. What was your reaction from Apple after you wrote it? Did they reach out to you?
They reached out. However, most of my communication surrounding this was private. They are not happy and don't think it's fair.
Usually, I interview Apple SVP Craig Federigi Or other high-level Apple executives at live shows every year after the developer meeting. They weren't on stage with you this year. Nilay Patel from The Verge and Joanna Stern from Wall Street Journal were with you instead.
Do you think that's for you and Apple? Do you think they won't come to your show anymore?
Point-Blank was said to be just a decision this year and not mean anything about the future. And I did an off-record briefing with Apple executives. So I don't think so.
If you are permanently separated from their top talent and can't have those record-breaking conversations, will it change your job?
not much. I always set things up that way. I'm always incredibly uncomfortable, need access and need it.
I always set things up and try not to need them.
And maybe it's better? That's what this is about – I'm not lacking humility here – but I feel that it was a complete victory for me and a huge loss for them that they're deciding not to do my show this year.
Why is it a victory for you?
It claims my independence.
The fact that I was doing the show and it was a lot of attendance – the overwhelming feedback on the show was, “Hey, I like this more than a show with Apple executives…”
When I was receiving the usual interviews with Apple executives, I was asked that they didn't seem like someone else had asked.
But overall – I think it asserts my independence. And I think it will look worse than I do.
My shows were never mainstream. It's appealing to a niche audience. And if you think Apple has the opportunity to communicate and speak more as a human, in contrast to machines filled with points of communication, my show is kind of unique venue for that.
My argument is, given everything that includes between me and Apple, and the fact that Apple had to delay it, everything that's happening right now for Apple… “For you, I think this is the year to skip my show.”
But they did.
