Apple Intelligence Fails the 10X Test—Here’s Why That Matters
Apple Intelligence promises AI-powered innovation, but is it truly game-changing? Here’s why it falls short of the 10X test.
Apple’s big AI moment has arrived. With the launch of Apple Intelligence, the company is rolling out a suite of AI-powered features designed to enhance writing, automate tasks, and supercharge Siri. They attempt to integrate AI directly into the iPhone, Mac, and iPad in a private, seamless, and helpful way.
But does it change your life?
The gold standard for game-changing tech is the 10X test—if a new product isn’t at least ten times better than what came before, most people won’t bother switching. Think of how Google Search crushed Yahoo, how the iPhone replaced flip phones, or how ChatGPT made Siri look like a confused toddler.
So, does Apple Intelligence pass the 10X test?
Spoiler alert: No, not even close.
Let’s explain why Apple Intelligence feels more like Apple Playing Catch-Up than Apple Reinventing the Future.
Mike Parsons
The 10X Test and Why It Matters
The 10X test is a simple but powerful benchmark in product innovation. If a new product is just a little better than we already have, we shrug and move on. But if it’s ten times better, we sit up, take notice, and wonder how we ever lived without it.
An actual 10X improvement solves a massive problem we’ve been struggling with forever or makes an everyday task so radically easier that going back feels painful.
The iPhone was ten times better than flip phones because it combined a phone, iPod, and internet browser in one sleek device. Google Maps was ten times better than printed maps because… You didn’t have to refold it.
So, what problem does Apple Intelligence solve?
That’s the issue—it doesn’t solve a big enough problem in a way that fundamentally changes how we work or interact with technology. It improves a few small things here and there, but nothing about it feels revolutionary.
Apple Intelligence: Nice, But Not Game-Changing
Apple Intelligence introduces many AI-powered enhancements to everyday Apple apps and features. A new set of writing tools that help rewrite, summarize, and proofread text. Siri is supposed to be more intelligent, natural, and capable. Photos and Spotlight search now leverage AI to surface what you need faster.
These are all nice-to-have features. But the real question is: Are they 10X better than we already have?
Apple Intelligence vs. Apple’s Existing Tools
If you’ve ever used Siri, you know it has not been very comfortable for years. Apple Intelligence is meant to make it brighter, but the recent improvements are modest. Siri can now understand context better and respond more naturally, but it’s still nowhere near the capabilities of AI assistants like ChatGPT or Google Assistant.
Apple Intelligence also integrates with Shortcuts to automate tasks, but that’s not new. If you were already using Apple Shortcuts to automate workflows, there’s very little in Apple Intelligence that dramatically improves your experience. The promise of AI that can perform complex, multi-step tasks across different apps isn’t even coming until 2026. Right now, the improvements are incremental, not transformational.
Apple Intelligence vs. Grammarly and ChatGPT
Apple Intelligence includes built-in writing tools that help you rewrite text in different tones, summarize long passages, and proofread grammar. It’s functional, but Grammarly and ChatGPT have been doing this for years, and they do it better.
Grammarly provides deeper grammatical analysis, style adjustments, and tone refinement across multiple platforms. ChatGPT, particularly in its GPT-4 version, can handle far more complex writing requests, from brainstorming ideas to drafting full-length documents with creative nuance. If Apple Intelligence matches these tools in functionality without improving them, why switch?
To make things worse, Apple Intelligence relies on ChatGPT for many complex AI tasks. That means when Siri or Apple’s writing tools struggle with something, they offload it to OpenAI’s system. If Apple Intelligence depends on ChatGPT for its best features, then Apple’s AI is not leading innovation—it’s just acting as a middleman.
Apple Intelligence vs. Google’s AI
Google has been ahead of Apple in AI for years, but this hasn’t changed with Apple Intelligence. Features like Google’s Magic Eraser, AI-powered email summaries, and intelligent search have existed for a long time. Apple’s AI-powered search and image-editing tools are catching up but aren’t surpassing what’s already available.
Google Photos already allows you to search for photos using natural language. Google’s AI can generate captions, summarize emails, and help automate daily tasks in ways that Apple Intelligence doesn’t yet match. Apple’s version of these tools might be well-integrated into its ecosystem, but they aren’t delivering a step-change in capability.
Mike Parsons
Why Apple Intelligence Fails the 10X Test
The biggest issue with Apple Intelligence is that it doesn’t feel like a leap forward. It’s functional, sure. It makes minor quality-of-life improvements. However, a 10X product changes how people work and interact with technology, and Apple Intelligence doesn’t do that.
It’s Slow and Limited
Apple Intelligence is designed to run on-device for privacy reasons, making it slower and less capable than cloud-based AI models. While ChatGPT or Google Gemini can handle complex reasoning tasks in seconds, Apple Intelligence struggles with anything beyond simple commands.
It’s Still a Work in Progress
Many of Apple Intelligence's best features won’t arrive until 2026. The AI-powered Siri that Apple has been hyping up will not be fully realized for at least another year or two. On top of that, only the latest iPhones and Macs can use Apple Intelligence, leaving a huge portion of Apple’s user base without access to these features.
It Doesn’t Change How People Work
A 10X product should make you rethink the way you do things. The iPhone made physical keyboards on phones obsolete. Spotify killed the need to download MP3s. ChatGPT changed how people search for information and generate content.
Apple Intelligence doesn’t create that kind of behavioral shift. Most iPhone users won’t change how they use their devices because of it. Many people aren’t even aware that Apple Intelligence exists, which is a sign that it’s not delivering enough compelling experience to drive adoption.
What Apple Needs to Do to Fix It
Apple has the potential to make AI genuinely game-changing. They control the entire ecosystem—hardware, software, privacy, everything. That gives them a massive advantage over competitors who rely on other companies’ devices and operating systems.
However, to pass the 10X test, Apple Intelligence needs to go beyond incremental improvements. It must make Siri dramatically smarter, capable of executing multi-step tasks without sweat. It must introduce AI tools that outperform ChatGPT and Grammarly rather than simply matching them. It must build AI-powered features that anticipate user needs before they ask, creating a seamless and intuitive experience that feels like magic.
Apple Intelligence is a step in the right direction, but it’s not a giant leap. Until Apple delivers a revolutionary AI experience, this will remain a nice-to-have feature, not a must-have innovation.
Final Verdict
Apple Intelligence is not a bad product. It’s functional, well-integrated into Apple’s ecosystem, and offers some nice AI-powered conveniences. But it doesn’t pass the 10X test because it doesn’t solve a massive problem, it doesn’t change how people work, and it doesn’t dramatically outperform existing AI tools.
At best, it’s a 2X improvement, not a 10X revolution.
Until Apple delivers something groundbreaking, the actual AI revolution will still happen outside of Apple’s walls.
What do you think? Have you tried Apple Intelligence? Does it feel like a game-changer, or is it just another minor upgrade? Let me know your thoughts.
The 10X Scorecard: A CEO’s Guide to Building a Game-Changer
If you’re building something new, the goal isn’t to be slightly better—it’s to be undeniably, ridiculously, can’t-live-without-it better. That’s what makes a product 10X. Anything less? You’re just another option in an already crowded market.
So, how do you know if your product is a true breakthrough or just a little upgrade? Use this 10X Scorecard as your gut check.
1. Solve a Big, Hairy Problem (10/10)
If your product disappeared tomorrow, would people panic? If not, your problem isn’t big enough.
- 10X products fix something painful—something people hate dealing with.
- Uber has made taxis obsolete. The iPhone made the flip phone look like a fossil. ChatGPT rewrote how we search for information.
- Ask yourself: Are we making life dramatically easier or slightly better?
2. Speed & Effortlessness Wins (9/10)
People love fast, frictionless experiences. If your product takes too long or requires effort, you're already losing.
- A 10X product automates complexity and delivers results before users have time to consider it.
- Imagine waiting five minutes for Google to load. You wouldn’t. That’s the bar.
- If your product still makes people click around, read manuals, or watch tutorials, it’s not 10X.
3. Outperform the Competition—Don’t Just Match It (10/10)
Being as good as your competitors isn’t enough. You need to run circles around them.
- AI products are a great example. Why would anyone switch if your AI assistant does what ChatGPT or Grammarly already does?
- A 10X product isn’t just better—it’s so much better that the alternative feels ancient.
- If people can easily replace your product with something else, you haven’t hit 10X.
4. Change the Way People Think & Act (10/10)
An actual 10X product reshapes behavior. It makes people say, “I can’t imagine going back.”
- Before Spotify, people owned music. Now, they expect to stream everything.
- Before Airbnb, hotels were the default. Now, we check for lofts, treehouses, and yachts first.
- If your product doesn’t shift how people work, play, or think, it’s another tool—not a revolution.
5. Make It Stupidly Easy to Adopt (9/10)
A 10X product doesn’t require effort; it pulls people in effortlessly.
- Apple made switching from PCs to Macs so simple that even die-hard Windows users leaped.
- Slack spread like wildfire in offices because it worked better than email—no training required.
- If people must fight through onboarding or figure things out, your product isn’t 10X.
6. Launch When It’s Ready (8/10)
A half-baked 10X product? That’s a 5X product at best. You need something polished enough that people trust it from day one.
- If your early adopters keep saying, “This looks promising, but it’s not there yet,” you launched too soon.
- If you’re constantly patching basic functionality, you risk losing your momentum.
- A great product can launch with fewer features but must be rock solid.
7. Lead the Market—Don’t Follow It (10/10)
A 10X product doesn’t just compete—it makes people rethink what’s possible.
- Netflix didn’t try to be a better Blockbuster. It rewrote the rules.
- Tesla didn’t try to make a gas car with better mileage. It made gas irrelevant.
- If your product is “like X, but better,” you’re not 10X. You’re just another option.
8. Create Unstoppable Market Pull (10/10)
10X products don’t need massive marketing budgets—people talk about them naturally.
- Word-of-mouth, not ads, is the real driver of a 10X product.
- When Dropbox launched, they gave away extra storage for referrals—and people couldn’t stop sharing it.
- If your product needs constant convincing, it’s probably not 10X.
Final Thought: Build Something That Feels Inevitable
A 10X product doesn’t just improve things—it changes the game. It solves a problem so completely that it makes the old way feel painful.
If your product isn’t creating obsession, behavior shifts, and instant adoption, it might not be a 10X breakthrough.
So, be honest—where does your product stand?