Two letters that Apple threw all around during last year’s iPhone unveiling were missing from this year’s event.
Unlike last year’s unveiling of the iPhone 16, AI was hardly mentioned during today’s event, indicating that even Apple realized how futile it would be to discuss Artificial Intelligence or even Apple Intelligence. The opening quote from the late Steve Jobs about design foreshadowed the direction of today’s “Awe Dropping” event as this Keynote was all about the design of the ultra-thin iPhone Air.
Last year, Apple made Apple Intelligence the centerpiece of the “It’s Glowtime” event. But with major AI-based features to Siri reportedly on hold until next spring’s iOS 26.4, and the Apple Intelligence rollout considered to be a fiasco, today’s introduction of the AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and the iPhone 17 Pro models barely mentioned AI or Apple Intelligence at all.
Without re-watching the entire event (which might be considered capital punishment in some states), I can recall only a couple of times when AI was even mentioned. I’m sure it had to be more times than I recall, but AI was mentioned while discussing the AI accelerators built into each GPU core of the A19 application processor (AP). And at the end of the event, Tim Cook made a passing reference to Apple Intelligence.
