Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has delayed the release of its newest AI product, which puts it well behind competition from public companies such as Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and private companies led by OpenAI. The delay threatens sales of Apple products during a period when these sales are already mediocre.

Apple Intelligence, the name given to the current generation of AI that runs on iPhones, has been underwhelming. Among its features were Siri’s improved functions. Very few reviewers of the feature found it any more than the most modest improvement. Apple’s Writing Tool was supposed to upgrade the rewriting features and improve text quality. Critics found it does not work well with large documents.

These features were to be improved in iOS 18.4, which Apple expected to be released in May. According to Bloomberg, the company changed that to “the coming year.” Bloomberg further reports, “Apple engineers have been racing to fix a rash of bugs in the project. The work has been unsuccessful, according to people involved in the efforts.”

Microsoft’s AI tool, Copilot, has been in the market for months. Google’s Gemini is available and integrates with its search features. OpenAI’s ChatGPT can be downloaded from the App Store and run on an iPhone, as can xAI’s Grok. xAI is controlled by Elon Musk.

Apple’s competition in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, all have AI features. Apple has been losing market share to China smartphone leaders Xiaomi and vivo for several months.

Apple has to contend with the reality that its competition will not stand still. Over the upcoming months, some will release more advanced versions of their current products.

When it releases its largest AI product, Apple may find it is well behind its major competition.

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