That said, Apple still deserves a lot of credit. They had a 5+ year edge, especially around the vision of tightly integrating the NPU and unified memory.
I think they have a longer lead, considering how long they’ve been making iPhone A-style processors. Migrating the desktop ecosystem to it was only the logical next step.
Like gaming consoles they calculated that unified memory will be cheaper for them in the long run. The funny thing is that while it gave them a unintended edge on local A.I, the "cheaper" calculation, didn't work out so well for them.