OpenClaw is what Apple intelligence should have been

Apple’s AI Strategy and Siri

• Many argue Apple is too conservative and control‑oriented to ship uncontrollable LLM agents soon, especially ones with broad system access.
• Others note this is consistent with Apple’s pattern: let others prove the concept, then ship a polished, integrated version later—though some doubt Apple’s recent software track record.
• Siri/Apple Intelligence are widely seen as underwhelming: poor reliability, too many “unlock first” prompts, and weak features compared to modern LLMs.

Security, Trust, and Scale

• Core objection: giving an LLM “root-like” access contradicts Apple’s multi‑decade move toward sandboxing and permissions.
• Prompt injection and data exfiltration are viewed as unsolved, structural problems; adding agents that can act on your behalf would turn every web page and email into an attack surface.
• At Apple scale, even 0.01% failure would harm thousands and damage brand trust; a small open-source project can shrug and say “use at your own risk,” Apple cannot.

OpenClaw’s Design and Maturity

• Many see OpenClaw as a fun, hackerish tech demo: “vibe‑coded,” experimental, and fundamentally insecure by design, not something a mainstream company could ship.
• The top “skill” reportedly being malware reinforces perceptions that it is a security nightmare, not a blueprint for Apple.
• Some users report extremely rough UX and incoherent architecture, calling it a garbage pile that nonetheless showcases what’s possible.

Mac Mini and Hardware Angle

• The article’s claim that Mac Minis are “selling out everywhere” is widely disputed; several call it outright fabrication or at best localized.
• Where Minis are used, commenters say it’s mostly to keep a cheap always‑on Mac with iMessage/Apple‑app access for agents, not for local GPU inference.
• Some frame this as a quiet win for Apple hardware regardless of who wrote the software.

Debate over the “Agent Layer” Future

• One camp believes agentic interfaces will become the dominant way people use computers, potentially absorbing many app functions.
• Another expects today’s “agent layer” to be a transient, hacky phase—like the Metaverse or BBSs—replaced by different tech and UX paradigms.
• Skeptics anticipate an AI bubble correction as users hit practical limits, security scandals, or realize many touted use cases are better solved structurally (e.g., simpler tax systems).

Use Cases and User Appetite

• Many recoil at examples like “file your taxes” or run finances via an agent; they see this as reckless given hallucinations and unverifiability.
• Some note that for email and calendars, the bottleneck is human decision-making, not clicking speed, so automation’s value is overstated.
• Others are excited by automation of tedious workflows and see OpenClaw-like tools as an early glimpse of that future.

Critiques of the Article and Hype

• Several call the piece a myopic hot take built on a handful of Reddit/HN anecdotes, overstating Mac Mini demand and OpenClaw’s importance.
• There’s suspicion of astroturfing: the blog has almost only OpenClaw content, and some think the tone reads like LLM‑generated marketing.
• Overall sentiment: OpenClaw is interesting and instructive, but portraying it as what “Apple Intelligence should have been” ignores safety, liability, and product‑quality realities.