In the glittering world of tech unveilings, few brands wield the power of persuasion like Apple. With every keynote, Tim Cook ascends the stage like a modern-day alchemist, promising to transmute silicon into gold – or at least into “groundbreaking innovation” that will “change everything.” But peel back the polished veneer of the latest iPhone 17 launch in September 2025, and what do you find? A handful of camera tricks dressed up as revolutionary feats, features that savvy third-party developers have been delivering for years, and a Siri that’s so far behind the AI curve, Apple is now shelling out nearly $1 billion annually to Google’s Gemini just to keep it from flatlining. This isn’t innovation; it’s a masterclass in marketing sleight-of-hand, and it’s high time consumers – and Apple itself – snapped out of the trance.
In the glittering circus of tech unveilings, no company performs the illusion of innovation quite like Apple. Every September, Tim Cook walks on stage like a modern-day alchemist, promising to transform ordinary silicon into “groundbreaking magic.”
But peel back the glossy marketing of the iPhone 17 launch (Sept 2025) and a far less glamorous truth emerges:
Apple is selling recycled App Store features as billion-dollar inventions.
And we can prove it — with links, timestamps, downloads, and years of evidence Apple hopes you never see.
1. APPLE’S “DUAL CAPTURE VIDEO” IS A COPY OF 2019–2020 APPS
Apple’s keynote described simultaneous front-and-rear video recording as a “breakthrough” on the iPhone 17.
Reality: Developers released this feature YEARS ago.
Here are the apps that did it long before Apple:
DoubleTake by FiLMiC Pro (2020) — front+back recording, PiP, split screen
Download:
https://apps.apple.com/app/doubletake-by-filmic-pro/id1478030476
Released January 2020
Dualgram (2021) — free app, identical feature
Download:
https://apps.apple.com/app/dualgram/id1588224786
Released 2021
MixCam: Front Back Camera (2019)
Download:
https://apps.apple.com/app/mixcam-front-back-camera/id1482978508
Released 2019
These apps have been doing exactly what Apple just introduced — sometimes with more options, like saving separate video files, real-time switching, and pro controls.
Apple is 4–6 years late. Yet at the keynote, they acted as if humanity had never seen this before.
2. “HORIZONTAL VIDEO WHILE HOLDING YOUR PHONE VERTICALLY” — APPLE COPIED A 2014 APP
Apple calls it:
“Landscape capture in vertical orientation.”
Translation?
Your phone shoots horizontal video even if it’s held upright.
Again, Apple presents it as a revolutionary fix for “Vertical Video Syndrome.” Except… this exact feature already existed ELEVEN YEARS AGO.
Horizon – Always Landscape (2014)
https://apps.apple.com/app/horizon-always-landscape/id580420127
Released: 2014
Horizon forces perfect landscape video no matter how you rotate the phone — EVEN on old iPhone 5s hardware.
Apple simply:
- replicated the idea
- added a Camera app button
- and announced it like the cure for cancer
11 years late.
3. THE SIRI DISASTER — APPLE IS NOW PAYING GOOGLE ~$1 BILLION/YEAR
While Apple sells camera leftovers as magic, Siri has quietly collapsed into a global joke. By 2025, internal Apple meetings reportedly called the AI delays “ugly and embarrassing.”
The failure is so severe that Apple is now:
PAYING GOOGLE’S GEMINI ~$1 BILLION per year to power the “new Siri” starting 2026.
Sources:
Bloomberg
CNET
Apple — a $3 trillion company — is renting its biggest competitor’s AI just to keep Siri from flatlining.
While:
- ChatGPT
- Google Gemini
- and other assistants
carry out context-rich conversations, Siri still struggles with basic queries.
This is not “innovation.” This is a bailout.
4. THIS ISN’T NEW — IT’S APPLE’S OLD PLAYBOOK
Apple has been repackaging old ideas for a decade:
- Live Photos (2015) – existed in Camera+ burst apps years earlier.
- 3D Touch (2016) – long-press + haptic apps did similar things before.
- Always-on Display for Apple Watch (2022) – Android had it in 2014.
- Night Mode (2019) – Pixel had it first in 2018.
- AirPower (2017) – never shipped because others already did it better.
The pattern is clear:
Apple waits years → copies the App Store → markets it as “magic.”
Consumers pay $1,199–$1,599 for the privilege.
5. THE BRUTAL FACTS — SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON
| Apple’s 2025 Feature | App That Already Did It | Year It Beat Apple |
|---|---|---|
| Front + Rear video (Dual Capture) | DoubleTake, Dualgram, MixCam | 4–6 years early |
| Horizontal video in vertical orientation | Horizon | 11 years early |
| Competent AI assistant | Google Gemini (now powering Siri) | 5+ years early |
Apple didn’t invent these.
Apple didn’t improve these.
Apple simply waited, copied, and marketed.
6. CONSUMERS, STOP FALLING FOR THE TRICK
Apple’s $3 trillion empire is funded by:
- recycled features,
- keynote smoke machines,
- and marketing hypnosis.
Meanwhile, the App Store has been offering these same capabilities for years — often free or under $10.
Try the apps yourself right now:
- DoubleTake
- Dualgram
- MixCam
- Horizon
See how “revolutionary” Apple’s ideas really are when a $4.99 app did it first.
7. APPLE, THIS IS YOUR WAKE-UP CALL
Stop copying the App Store.
Stop calling old ideas “magic.”
Stop charging $1,599 for features that existed on iPhone 5s.
Invest in original R&D.
Fix Siri without renting Google’s brain.
Deliver actual progress.
Your users — loyal for decades — deserve better than a reheated App Store buffet dressed as innovation.
THE ENDGAME
Consumers:
Stop clapping.
Stop pre-ordering.
Stop letting a trillion-dollar company gaslight you.
Demand real innovation, not 2014 features disguised as 2025 breakthroughs.
Apple, if you’re listening (and Siri definitely isn’t):
The world wants the real deal.
Are you finally ready to build it?
