{"slug": "super-apps-last-all-summer-long", "title": "Super Apps Last All Summer Long", "summary": "OpenAI's updated ChatGPT, touted as the first super app, has been criticized as a mess, while Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google vie for dominance in the super app space. Google may turn Chrome into a super app to boost Gemini usage, and Apple's iPhone positions it well for AI integration, but regulatory and user acceptance risks loom.", "body_md": "# Super Apps Last All Summer Long\n\nI can now confirm, the pubs were in fact crazy on Saturday night as I watched my Conflicted Cup – aka, the World Cup semifinal between England and Norway (I, of course, live in England but my maternal heritage is full-on Norwegian). It was close, but England pulled it out in the end – an end that occurred shortly before 1am local time, which was especially fun.\n\nAnyway, while there was a sports angle of [my usual tech talk with Alex Kantrowitz](https://spyglass.org/tag/big-technology/) this month thanks to the VAR situation in said World Cup, for the most part, we stick to tech. Namely, '[The Summer of Super Apps](https://spyglass.org/copilot-ai-super-app/)', which ended up being a timely chat since *just days later*, we got [the first such app](https://spyglass.org/super-app/) in the form of OpenAI's updated – but hardly upgraded – version of ChatGPT.\n\nSpoiler alert: [it's a mess](https://spyglass.org/chatgpt-gets-to-work/).\n\nSo do we really believe Microsoft will be able to pull this off? I mean, at least they're coming at it from a place where they needed to [change their strategy](https://spyglass.org/microsoft-copilot-copilot-copilot/), OpenAI runs a real risk here of ceding the consumer space – the area of AI they've [unquestionably dominated](https://spyglass.org/kids-and-ai/) [to date](https://spyglass.org/consumer-ai-services-apps/) – potentially [to Meta](https://spyglass.org/meta-ai-cloud-business-model/) or [even Apple](https://spyglass.org/siri-ai/)! At the same time, OpenAI clearly feels the need to combat Anthropic and so it's hardly surprising that the new ChatGPT looks a lot like the Claude Mac app. Well, it *is* [surprising](https://spyglass.org/chatgpt-is-dead-long-live-chatgpt/) in that it's sort of a UI nightmare when we're used to OpenAI making actually [delightful product experiences](https://spyglass.org/openai-product-launches/), for [the most part](https://spyglass.org/openai-chatgpt-gpt-5-backlash/). Everyone is also chasing the notion, [if not exactly the product, of OpenClaw](https://spyglass.org/openclaw-versus-closed-claude/) for agentic AI.\n\nMeanwhile, Google, which rather remarkably [feels](https://spyglass.org/inklings-amazons-openai-movie-meta-glasses-microsofts-ai-narrative-pivot-google-falling-behind-in-ai-again/#:~:text=%F0%9F%93%89%20Is%20Google%20Behind%20In%20AI%3F%20Again%3F!) behind [ again](https://spyglass.org/google-isnt-lazy-its-timid-as-it-sadly-must-be/) at the moment, still has the biggest surfaces to naturally insert AI (well, more naturally than Meta at least, whose user base will undoubtedly\n\n[largely reject](https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/meta-suspends-ai-image-instagram-feature-backlash-1236806989/?ref=spyglass.org)such insertion). Is it wild to think that Google may turn to Chrome not just to spur Gemini usage (which\n\n[they've been doing](https://spyglass.org/chrome-gemini/), of course) but to turn it into the \"Super App\"? Would they dare?! Talk about risk – from both the user base and\n\n[regulators](https://spyglass.org/google-antitrust-ai/)!\n\nDoes '[Bring Your Own AI](https://spyglass.org/bring-your-own-ai/)' come into play in all this? That could be a new can of worms!\n\nApple, though, does suddenly feel [well positioned](https://spyglass.org/siri-ai/) again. Perhaps best positioned even! Thanks, of course, [to the iPhone](https://spyglass.org/apples-next-big-ai-thing-the-iphone/). It sort of feels like we're going to see a lot of people over the next year transition into a mode where they walk around and talk to Siri – *actually talk to her*, not yell at her, [angry with her previously poor responses](https://spyglass.org/new-new-siri/). But here OpenAI may have a real opportunity thanks to their focus on [superior voice-based AI](https://spyglass.org/gpt-live/). You'd think that's an opening for a new product category – [or categories](https://spyglass.org/apple-ai-pin-wearable/) – but well, there's a potential\n\n[new massive hiccup](https://spyglass.org/apple-vs-openai/)there as of a couple days ago.\n\nAlso, [don't sleep](https://spyglass.org/shudder-button/) on \"[Visual Intelligence](https://spyglass.org/airpod-cameras-siri-ai/)\".\n\nIf it all plays out this way, Apple will obviously feel very good about [their CapEx strategy](https://spyglass.org/apple-crazy-capex/). Which is to say, they'd be positioned well in AI [without having spent hundreds of billions of dollars](https://spyglass.org/meta-apple-ai-strategy/). And it's sort of [starting to feel like](https://spyglass.org/inklings-amazons-openai-movie-meta-glasses-microsofts-ai-narrative-pivot-google-falling-behind-in-ai-again/#:~:text=%E2%98%81%EF%B8%8F%20Microsoft%E2%80%99s%20Hybrid%20AI%20Dreams) Microsoft is moving more in this direction too. Or, at least, focusing on finding paths towards cheaper AI – both [for themselves](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-07/microsoft-replaces-openai-anthropic-with-own-ai-in-some-apps?ref=spyglass.org) and for their user base.\n\nLastly, stick around for Alex's VAR rant – are we trusting the robots too much and literally taking the fun and majesty out of the game?", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/super-apps-last-all-summer-long", "canonical_source": "https://spyglass.org/super-apps-last-all-summer-long/", "published_at": "2026-07-12 22:22:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-13 09:36:43.916541+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-startups", "ai-policy", "ai-agents"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Microsoft", "Meta", "Apple", "Google", "ChatGPT", "Anthropic", "Claude"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/super-apps-last-all-summer-long", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/super-apps-last-all-summer-long.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/super-apps-last-all-summer-long.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/super-apps-last-all-summer-long.jsonld"}}