Why Apple won't build the family AI assistant users actually need
By
rcarmo
An everything bagel for the brain. Substantive, layered, well-seasoned.
Summary
The author reflects on Apple's recent Ternus announcement and expresses a wish for a product Apple will likely never build: a family-scoped AI assistant that works seamlessly across all devices. Unlike frontier AI models or reasoning engines, the author wants a competent, context-aware agent that understands the family as a unit—managing shared calendars, school schedules, medication reminders, and coordination tasks. The piece critiques Apple Intelligence for not focusing on the practical, everyday problems that matter most to families already invested in the Apple ecosystem.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe Ternus announcement got me thinking about the one thing I keep wishing Apple would build and almost certainly never will: a family-scoped AI assistant that actually works across all our devices.
I don't mean a frontier model or a 'reasoning engine'–just a competent, context-aware agent that understands my family as a unit.
The kind of thing that Apple Intelligence was supposed to be, except pointed at the problem that would actually matter most to the people who are already deep in the ecosystem.
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