iPhone
The iPhone demonstrates remarkable adaptive capacity within its operational parameters. Through software updates, the device modifies its behaviour to accommodate new applications, security threats, and the ever-changing demands of its user base. The iOS ecosystem permits the installation of over two million applications, each representing a potential adaptive response to environmental stimuli.
However, the iPhone's adaptability remains constrained by its fixed physical form. When confronted with water, extreme temperatures, or significant physical trauma, the device exhibits no capacity for self-modification. It cannot regrow damaged components, change colour to match its surroundings, or squeeze through apertures smaller than its chassis dimensions.
Octopus
The octopus represents 500 million years of adaptive refinement, possessing capabilities that border on the supernatural. A typical specimen can alter its colour, texture, and apparent shape within milliseconds, effectively running real-time camouflage algorithms without silicon assistance. The creature's boneless anatomy permits passage through any aperture larger than its beak, the only rigid structure in its body.
Chromatophore cells numbering in the thousands enable instantaneous visual adaptation, whilst the octopus's distributed nervous system allows each arm to operate semi-autonomously when problem-solving. Documented cases include octopi opening screw-top jars, navigating mazes, and escaping from supposedly secure enclosures with troubling regularity.