According to AppleInsider, in a new hour-long interview on the Newcomer Podcast, former Apple iPod designer and Nest founder Tony Fadell offered a sweeping critique of his old company. Fadell, who left Apple in 2008, called Apple’s “AI-first” marketing for new Macs and iPhones “complete bullshit,” arguing the company has abandoned its “under-promise and over-deliver” ethos. He also stated Apple “flubbed” the Apple Car project by aiming for a self-driving SUV instead of redefining urban mobility, and claimed co-founder Steve Jobs had discussed a “people’s car” concept with him back in 2008/2009. Furthermore, Fadell dismissed products like the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 as going “nowhere,” but suggested Apple itself could succeed with a similar AI pin, smart ring, or camera-equipped AirPods that supplement the phone.
The Bullshit Meter is Buzzing
Fadell’s rant on AI marketing is pretty spicy, but he’s got a point. When every tech company slaps “AI” on everything, it becomes meaningless noise. Apple used to be the master of letting a product’s capabilities speak for themselves. Remember the original iPhone reveal? They showed what it did, and the world lost its mind. No “AI-first” label needed. Now, it feels like they’re playing catch-up in a hype cycle they didn’t start, and the marketing is uncharacteristically loud. Fadell’s hope that they’re “finding new religion” is basically a plea for a return to that quiet confidence. Can they actually under-promise and over-deliver with Apple Intelligence? We’ll see this fall.
The Pin That Might Actually Work
Here’s where Fadell gets more interesting. He trashes the current batch of AI wearable failures, but then says Apple could pull it off. His reasoning is key: these devices shouldn’t try to replace the phone, but supplement it for moments when your phone is tucked away. A pin, a ring, smarter AirPods—they’re about capturing context without a screen. He even speculates that OpenAI’s secret device might be a pen or glasses to bypass Apple’s strict app permissions and “suck up all of your context.” It’s a cynical but probably accurate take on the industry’s end-run around privacy walls. And it highlights why, if anyone could make a palatable version of this, it’s the company that has made privacy a selling point. The full interview is worth a listen for his deeper thoughts on this sensor-driven future.
Rethinking the Apple Car… and iPod?
On the car, Fadell’s critique cuts to the core of Apple’s modern identity crisis. He says Jobs wanted a “people’s car” for cities, a redefinition of mobility. What Apple reportedly spent a decade building was a luxury self-driving SUV. That’s not redefining anything; that’s entering an existing, brutal market. So did Apple lose its nerve to truly reinvent? Or did the technical reality of a car crush the vision? Fadell clearly believes it was a failure of ambition. And then he casually throws in that Apple should bring back the iPod. That feels more like nostalgia than strategy. The world that needed a dedicated music player is gone. But maybe the sentiment is about focus—making one thing incredibly well, which is a lesson that could apply to those AI pins he’s dreaming about.
The Shadow CEO Speaks
Let’s be real: Tony Fadell hasn’t been inside Apple for 16 years. His last major act there was the iPod Classic. A lot has changed. He’s a brilliant hardware guy with a legendary track record, but his “shadow CEO” comments today come from the outside looking in. He’s also a famously intense leader—the “atmosphere of fear” at Nest wasn’t a PR win. So while his technical and product instincts are sharp, his perspective is that of a critic and consultant, not an operator in Apple’s current reality. His takes are a fascinating mix of timeless product philosophy and possible old-man-yelling-at-cloud. But when he points out that Apple’s marketing feels off and its moonshot projects lose the plot, it’s hard not to listen. After all, he helped build the Apple that everyone misses.
