Apple rarely holds an all-hands meeting, Cook reassures employees: We seldom do things first, but Apple will take control of AI

After releasing a strong financial report, Apple CEO Tim Cook rarely held an all-hands meeting to try to restore the team's confidence in the field of artificial intelligence.

On August 1, Apple CEO Cook held a staff meeting at the California headquarters, emphasizing that the significance of the AI revolution is as important, if not more so, than the internet, smartphones, cloud computing, and applications.

Cook acknowledged that Apple started late in the AI field but emphasized that the company has never been a technology pioneer; instead, it leads the market by creating "modern versions" of products. He told employees that Apple will invest heavily in AI, with 40% of the 12,000 new employees hired in the past year joining research and development positions.

Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, explained the significant upgrade plans for the Siri intelligent assistant at the meeting. He stated that the company is developing a new version of Siri based on a completely new architecture, expected to launch as early as next spring. Previously mentioned by Wallstreetcn, the new version of Siri will involve two major upgrades: cross-application operation capabilities and personalized contextual awareness features.

This internal mobilization meeting took place after Apple announced better-than-expected quarterly results. According to Wallstreetcn, facing U.S. tariffs and fierce competition in the Chinese market, Apple still delivered impressive results last quarter, with total revenue surpassing expectations and achieving the highest growth rate in three and a half years.

AI Strategy: Acknowledging Lag but Emphasizing Traditional Advantages

In an attempt to dispel employees' doubts about Apple's AI strategy, Cook's core argument was to reflect on the company's history of innovation.

Cook candidly admitted that Apple has not always been the first to seize opportunities. He told employees:

We are rarely the first.

He cited a series of classic examples to support his point: Personal computers existed before the Mac; smartphones existed before the iPhone; many tablets were on the market before the iPad; and MP3 players had long been available before the iPod.

Cook emphasized that despite entering the market late, Apple successfully invented the "modern" versions of these product categories and ultimately dominated the market due to its unique design, user experience, and ecosystem integration capabilities.

He applied this successful model to artificial intelligence, suggesting that Apple's goal is not to be the first to launch a product but to offer the best experience and highest quality AI features, which will once again redefine industry standards.

Major Upgrade for Siri: New Architecture to Solve Hybrid System Issues

Federighi detailed the technical reasons for the delayed release of Siri at the meeting.

He stated that the initially planned version of Siri attempted to integrate two different systems: one for handling current commands (such as setting timers) and another based on a large language model generative AI system. Federighi stated:

We initially wanted to adopt a hybrid architecture, but we realized that this approach would not allow us to meet Apple's quality standards.

Apple is now developing a new version of Siri with a completely new architecture that will unify all functions. Federighi stated:

Our work on the end-to-end redesign of Siri has already delivered the results we needed. This allows us not only to deliver the features we announced but also to provide upgrades that are greater than we envisioned. No project is more valued than this.

He also mentioned that having Mike Rockwell, the creator of Vision Pro, and his team leading the software for the headset in charge of the Siri project is a driving force for product improvement