The Wire's article asks the question, "What is Jony Ive Really Building?". But it's more complicated than it might appear.

Recently, it was reported that Apple is backing away from the upcoming investment round for OpenAI. There seems to be something afoot and Apple maybe completely caught off guard here. It's not just OpenAI and Jony Ive making a device. Mark Zuckerberg is proving that he wants no part of Apple's walled garden either via a recent release of a bunch of cool hardware that uses AI and no Apple influence whatsoever. And, Mark was more than happy to work with Xbox/Microsoft for future capabilities of the Oculus Meta Quest VR/AR headset.

If you're tracking, it's becoming clear that the top tier innovators that are building user products don't want Apple as a gatekeeper affecting profits, form, and function of what it is they can and cannot build.

What is also damning is that Apple believes they can get away with not having to invest any real effort into AI with not only a late rollout but seemingly not very advanced AI capabilities via Apple Intelligence. So much so, they had to partner with OpenAI in order to provide a path for giving users an "advanced" model when it is something Siri can't handle. I don't even know what or how that is supposed to work well in practice but it is something both OpenAI and Apple thought was acceptable enough to do the deal in the first place.

But the lessons and traps here are historically available of what Apple always does when using third party capability for then themselves to take over and provide first party capabilities. Look no further than Apple maps. Eventually, they'll catch-up enough to not make the deal really worth it in the long run. But who knows, maybe it is beneficial for Apple and Google to exist this way. If you look at Android then the guess is, not really. In a way, it's a grand compromise.

The OS controls all and no matter what advancements in technology you have (Including Super Advanced AI/AGI/ASI) at the end of the day you are still susceptible to the delivery mechanism that technology is realized on; The OS or server providing API which is also on an OS but that's another topic.

The gatekeeping and filter nature of the OS is not be underestimated and many wish they didn't have to deal with it. For Apple users it provides a privacy comfort that many people appreciate. For aspiring startups and new tech is simply a pain in the ass.

This is where OpenAI, Jony Ive and Miss Jobs come in. Taking a lead from Zuckerberg they too want to build their own device that isn't bound by the restrictions and available capabilities that are provided by iOS.

What's interesting here, very interesting, is that Steve Jobs wife and initial Apple innovation director Jony Ive are seemingly so done with Apple that they believe the time is not to go at it themselves. The game is set and the match is getting setup. Apple does not have enough AI IP to combat what is about to come to fruition with OpenAI's LLM dominance. Apple capex and massive stock buyback announced last quarter is an obvious reminder to anyone paying attention that they literally almost completely missed on AI. They even reported that they hadn't "bought" any Nvidia chips as if nobody would notice they also hadn't built anything great with AI either. Instead choosing to carefully craft using a third party IP to fill-in-the-gaps until they can really figure out what to do next.

Make no mistake, Sam's sights are set on making a first party OS built on AI. No, it won't be the iPhone of AI but rather it will be an Operating System built on and for AI. This is something that Apple knows they will not be able to compete with as Siri has no proof or shown existence of being capable to even remotely compete with any of the large foundational LLM's from Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, or OpenAI. In this race they are last and eventually it is going to bite them.

It won't happen overnight but if anyone remembers blackberry it takes just one device to change the game.

The app store that OpenAI will provide will be one that can be of an AI Agent App Store that can function all capability semantically rather than through a touch screen. Want to order an Uber, just tell your agent to do it. Want to pay a bill, just tell your agent to do it. Want to call a restaurant and make reservations, just tell an agent to do it. Want to send that email to your boss in response to the email they sent earlier in the day, just tell an agent to do it. It's a world that doesn't exists on iOS and as of this moment, can't.

I don't know how long this plays out and no hard details have been released yet but the pieces on the board are clear and they are in motion. Interesting times ahead.

I have a position in Apple and will be watching this space closely.