Limited Intelligence 🍏📱

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the strangely-stuttered launch of iOS 18.1. Apple Intelligence is here (yay!), but not for everyone (boo!). What does this staggered approach say about Apple’s position in the AI race? We also have news on Notion’s wave of new features and products (including Email), Meta taking on Google dominance in two areas, the Gen Z app making headlines, and our latest App, Stat, and Quote of the Week!

🎬 Our Top Take

🍏🆕 Apple – iOS 18.1 Drops with “Some” Intelligence for iPhone

We’ve been saying Apple was caught off guard by the AI boom for about two years now. And when playing catch up, Apple Intelligence must deliver. Well, it’s here now as part of iOS 18.1 – or at least some of it is. The software update dropped on Monday afternoon, immediately confusing users who had to join a waitlist for a few hours (very un-Apple-like). For now, Apple Intelligence is also limited to iPhone 15 Pro/Max and iPhone 16 models, newer Macs and iPads, meaning the vast majority of iPhone users won’t get it yet. So, what do we get? AI Writing Tools, AI Clean Up in Photos, Summaries for web pages and emails, Smart Replies for Mail and Messages, Memory Movies (pretty cool, actually), and a new Siri that is somewhat smarter than before. Yet, most of this has already been done by Google for Pixel. There is more to come, Apple promises, including the true AI-powered Siri and the much-talked-about integration with ChatGPT. We understand why Apple is not rushing this stuff – it’s better that it works than pushed out quickly – but Apple Intelligence is clearly dribbling into our lives rather than knocking our socks off. #SomeIntelligence Read more here.

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

DC Startup & Tech Week was packed with energy, inspiration, and some truly unforgettable moments. From the insightful panels and keynotes to the amazing people we met, the week brought a wealth of fresh ideas and connections. Our team hit the event with a selfie frame, ready to capture your best elevator pitches—and you didn’t disappoint! Big congrats to our Pitch Contest winner Aaron Warren (aka “A-A Ron”) of CRESolutió, whose PropertyWorx AI is a game-changer for real estate productivity. Notable mentions for Brionna Burris, Vinod Akunuri, Elli Stephanede, and Kareem George whose pitches also stood out! The atmosphere was electric, with attendees from across the country sharing ideas and building connections that, we’re sure, will shape the future of tech. We’re bringing back plenty of inspiration and a renewed sense of what’s possible.

📲 App of the Week: FotMob ⚽️

At 3Advance, we love great user experience. We also love a bit of football, and not just the egg-shaped one. We’re an international bunch after all. But back to design: Apps don’t need to be over-designed, but they do need to feel great, with an experience tailored to the audience and the use-case. So this week, we’re spotlighting Fotmob, an app for listing all the upcoming global soccer matches. In essence, it’s a soccer calendar, but it feels like so much more. So if you’re into footie, or you want some inspiration on calendar UX, check it out here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 25%

📈📉 Apple – Bloomberg Analyst Believes It’s Two Years Behind in AI Race

Let’s revert back to our main story for this week’s stat, which focuses on Apple lagging behind in the AI race. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes Apple is about two years behind the leaders, quoting internal Apple testing of the new Siri, showing it is 25% less accurate and can answer 30% fewer questions than ChatGPT. All is not lost, however, as Gurman points to the OpenAI partnership and the fact that Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem will benefit AI feature rollouts if – and when – it catches up. #AppleBehind Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

✍️ Quote of the Week:

User experience is all about how it feels to use a product or service. To make something feel simple as easy, it takes more effort. The ultimate win is where users can do what they need to do without ever even thinking about how they’re doing it. In essence, the process is invisible.

📣 Promos

🤖 Get your free AI consultation: Book Now
🎧 Listen to our What’s Appening Podcast
🎥 Watch on YouTube / Facebook / LinkedIn
📱 Enjoy our ‘shorts’ on TikTok / Instagram
🔔 Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you’ll always know what’s appening in tech.
🌐 Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok
💬 We appreciate you and we’d love to hear your feedback. Just hit ‘Reply’!