The biggest thing in the last couple of weeks is Microsoft showing off the half baked Recall “feature” that let your computer take photos of basically everything you do. The idea that you could search for something you did in the past using normal language is interesting, but the implementation was terrible. So that’s a big strike against MS, so much so they now are recalling the beta release of that. MS doesn’t have a good track record with things that are supposed to be local that somehow end up not local; I believe there was a big issue on xbox where local screenshots were still being monitored by the cloud somewhere. MS also loves shoving ads down your throat and turning back on features you have explicitly turned off. There’s no trust.

Apple certainly has their own issues, but as others have said, they have at least outwardly been a privacy first company, at least in marketing materials. They were one of the first to build in “secure enclaves” into phones and PCs so biometrics couldn’t get off of your device, for example. There’s a bit of a history, earned or otherwise, that Apple isn’t doing bad things with your data, so when they say their AI junk is private it’s easier to swallow.

That said, I still have yet to find a use for any of this AI junk across all platforms. I wish it all just stayed in the realm of intelligently making your photos a little sharper or whatever and not hallucinating things out of whole cloth. I’m actually happy my iPhone isn’t new enough to take advantage of this new stuff.