Apple's AI Team Almost Open-Sourced Models, but Refused Due to Concerns Over iPhone Performance.

Apple's AI team considered open-sourcing its AI models but decided against it due to concerns that it would reveal the limitations of its on-device approach. The team wanted to release the models to show technical progress and get outside help, but software chief Craig Federighi was concerned it would show how the models underperformed on iPhones. The team is reportedly reevaluating compensation and has considered using third-party AI models to power Siri.

Apple's AI team recently considered releasing several of its AI models as open-source software, according to a report from The Information. This move would have showcased Apple's technical progress in AI and harnessed the help of outside researchers to improve the models. However, the team's plans were thwarted by concerns raised by software chief Craig Federighi [2].

Federighi reportedly argued that there were already plenty of open-source models from other companies, such as Alibaba and Google, that could incentivize research. Moreover, he was concerned that releasing the models would reveal the limitations of Apple's on-device approach, particularly how the models' performance drops when they are scaled down to fit on iPhones compared to versions for more powerful PCs or data center computers [2].

This decision comes as Apple has faced significant internal drama within its AI team. Several members of the team have reportedly left, with some citing concerns about the company's on-device approach to AI. The team is now reevaluating its compensation structure and has considered using third-party AI models, such as those from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, to power Siri [2].

In contrast, OpenAI has recently announced plans to release its first open-source language model since 2019. This move is in response to the growing popularity of open-source models like Meta's Llama and DeepSeek, which have been downloaded billions of times and integrated into various platforms [1]. OpenAI's decision to release an open-source model is part of its strategy to make the model as useful as possible and to ensure that people everywhere have access to the benefits of AI [1].

While Apple's decision to not open-source its AI models may limit the company's ability to leverage the expertise of outside researchers, it could also help maintain the company's competitive edge by keeping its AI models proprietary. However, the ongoing departures from the AI team and the consideration of third-party models suggest that Apple is facing significant challenges in its AI efforts.

References:

[1] https://www.pymnts.com/artificial-intelligence-2/2025/ai-models-and-tools-openai-to-release-an-open-source-ai-model/
[2] https://9to5mac.com/2025/07/22/apple-almost-open-sourced-its-ai-models-heres-why-it-didnt-report/