Apple under pressure to shine after AI stumble
The Apple iPhone 16. Industry insiders will be watching to see whether Apple addresses the AI stumble or focuses on less splashy announcements, including a rumored overhaul of its operating systems for its line of devices.
Image: X/@milesabovetech
Pressure is on Apple to show it hasn't lost its magic despite broken promises to ramp up iPhones with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as rivals race ahead with the technology.
Apple will showcase plans for its coveted devices and the software powering them at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicking off Monday in Silicon Valley.
The event comes a year after the tech titan said a suite of AI features it dubbed "Apple Intelligence" was heading for iPhones, including an improvement of its much criticized Siri voice assistant.
"Apple advertised a lot of features as if they were going to be available, and it just didn't happen," noted Emarketer senior analyst Gadjo Sevilla.
Instead, Apple delayed the rollout of the Siri upgrade, with hopes that it will be available in time for the next iPhone release, expected in the fall.
"I don't think there is going to be that much of a celebratory tone at WWDC," the analyst told AFP. "It could be more of a way for Apple to recover some credibility by showing where they're headed."
Industry insiders will be watching to see whether Apple addresses the AI stumble or focuses on less splashy announcements, including a rumored overhaul of its operating systems for its line of devices.
"The bottom line is Apple seemed to underestimate the AI shift, then over-promised features, and is now racing to catch up," Gene Munster and Brian Baker of Deepwater Asset Management wrote in a WWDC preview note.
Rumors also include talk that Apple may add GenAI partnerships with Google or Perplexity to an OpenAI alliance announced a year ago.
'Double black eye'
Infusing its lineup with AI is only one of Apple's challenges.
Developers, who build apps and tools to run on the company's products, may be keen for Apple to loosen its tight control of access to iPhones.
"There's still a lot of strife between Apple and developers," Sevilla said. "Taking 30 percent commissions from them and then failing to deliver on promises for new functionality—that's a double black eye."
A lawsuit by Fortnite maker Epic Games ended with Apple being ordered to allow outside payment systems to be used at the US App Store, but developers may want more, according to the analyst.
"Apple does need to give an olive branch to the developer community, which has been long-suffering," Sevilla said. "They can't seem to thrive within the restrictive guardrails that Apple has been putting up for decades now."
As AI is incorporated into Apple software, the company may need to give developers more ability to sync apps to the platform, according to Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.
"Maybe with AI it's the first time that Apple needs to rethink the open versus closed ecosystem," Milanesi said. Apple on defensive
Adding to the WWDC buildup is that the legendary designer behind the iPhone, Jony Ive, has joined with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to create a potential rival device for engaging with AI.
"It puts Apple on the defensive because the key designer for your most popular product is saying there is something better than the iPhone," Sevilla said.
While WWDC has typically been a software-focused event, Apple might unveil new hardware to show it is still innovating, the analyst speculated.
And while unlikely to come up at WWDC, Apple has to deal with tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump in his trade war with China, a key market for sales growth as well as the place where most iPhones are made.
Trump has also threatened to hit Apple with tariffs if iPhone production wasn't moved to the US, which analysts say is impossible given the costs and capabilities.
"The whole idea of having an American-made iPhone is a pipe dream; you'd have to rewrite the rules of global economics," said Sevilla.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
9 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Crossed Wires: Which billionaires have not bent the knee to Trump?
Much has been written about the surprising political pivot of erstwhile Democrat-supporting billionaires (many of them from tech) to the welcoming embrace of Maga after decades of support for liberalism. Bezos of Amazon, Musk of X/Tesla, Zuckerberg of Meta and Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz have all shed blue cloaks since Trump's ascendance and donned bright red ones. Some others have shifted more quietly and pragmatically, perhaps making some allowance for the new winds of politics and a vengeful president. These are not normal times, of course. The current president is slashing and burning any entity that does not toe his thick red line, whether they are Harvard, CBS, NPR, Voice of America or Associated Press. Not to mention Canada, for God's sake. It is unprecedented. A large pair of balls is required if you want to refuse to pay obeisance – there are real consequences, as we have seen. It is with this in mind, and catalysed by the stunning success of self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic mayoral candidate race last week, that I set out to find some tech bros who remain committed to good old liberal values and who continue to talk about climate change and renewables, as well as DEI and trans and immigrants' rights, as though Maga had never happened. It turns out that there are still quite a few – some more vocal and others keeping quiet. Perhaps these 'woke' holdouts will feel the wind at their backs again in 2028. Politics is fickle and forgetful, and public perception apt to balance on the wobbly fence of economic good times. No-man's-land Let's dispense with those who have been careful to stay in no-man's-land. Tim Cook of Apple has stayed partially out of the fray. He made the trek to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump early on, if only to say, 'We are as happy to work with you as with all other presidents.' Then he got into a small spat with Trump about where to manufacture iPhones, which argument seems to have dissipated, probably because Trump was informed that iPhones simply cannot be manufactured in the US at a competitive cost. How about Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Alphabet/Google? They are both longtime left-leaning centrists who have managed to stay out of the debate by saying little and keeping their personal opinions private. Jensen Huang of Nvidia, on the other hand, has found himself in a bit of a pickle. In 2016, he was quoted as saying, 'In general I prefer a more liberal government', but now, at the head of what is possibly the US's most politically sensitive technology, AI, he has to make nice with the administration that holds all the keys to sanctions and IP restrictions. Mind you, what with Nvidia's dominance in AI hardware, the Trump administration has to make nice with Huang too, so Trump and Huang exist in a politely necessary co-dependent relationship. They are not bros. Anti-Trump brigade This brings us to the others – the ones who clearly do not like Trump and will not bend the knee, the ones whose moral compass has not changed. (I am not passing judgment here on whether that moral compass's needle is pointed in the right direction, only that it seems not to have moved.) These include, most notably, Mark Cuban. Cuban made his fortune in streaming in the late '90s and has since diversified promiscuously. He is (like many self-made-billionaires-at-40) brash, opinionated and smart. He has accused Trump of being a 'snake oil salesman', of being scared of 'strong, intelligent women', of being 'a threat' to the US and of having 'fascist tendencies'. He has been critical of the Democrats, too, accusing them of 'not being able to sell shit' but he has also remained steadfastly outspoken on core left-wing planks like DEI. Then there is Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn. His outspoken criticism of Trump caused him to consider leaving the US when Trump was re-elected (out of fear of retribution), but he has not done so and continues to actively support Democratic causes and candidates. And Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, remains firmly 'progressive' except for his controversial support of private over public schooling, which has put him at odds with traditional Democrats. Finally, Satya Nadella of Microsoft. He is also seemingly untainted one way or the other, is unfailingly diplomatic and not given to political statements. But Microsoft's contributions tell a different story – they are 4:1 in favour of the Democratic Party. Billionaire influence The narrative in its entirety tells an interesting story. These people have enormous influence and deep pockets. Where they lean has direct influence on the direction of US governance, not only via their monetary contributions, but in terms of the messages they implicitly whisper to their large customer bases. So, why have some moved to the right, either publicly or privately? Mark Andreessen, in a recent podcast, described a meeting at the Biden White House with other tech executives and some of Biden's team. The subject was AI regulation. At the conclusion of the meeting, the executives went downstairs and huddled in the parking lot. One of them said, 'So I guess it's Trump for us?' They all agreed, at least in Andreessen's telling. For them, the issue was government regulation, nothing else. It was not the money, or at least not completely. It was what Andreessen and the others saw as clumsy and constraining government interference in the sort of innovation they believed to be a national imperative. It may be the case that some of these billionaires left their longtime political homes because Democratic policies pushed them away, but I suspect others moved to the right (and particularly toward Trump) because that's where the money is. Perhaps also because no one wants to deal with Trump's wrath. The only way we'll know for sure is if and when a new Democratic president is elected and the Zuckerbergs and Bezoses come crawling back or not. Only then will we know whether they are motivated by money or principle. DM Maverick451
eNCA
17 hours ago
- eNCA
Morocco's Atlantic gambit: linking restive Sahel to ocean
A planned trade corridor linking the landlocked Sahel to the Atlantic is at the heart of an ambitious Moroccan project to tackle regional instability and consolidate its grip on disputed Western Sahara. The "Atlantic Initiative" promises ocean access to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger through a new $1.3-billion port in the former Spanish colony claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front but largely controlled by Morocco. But the project remains fraught with challenges at a time when military coups in the Sahel states have brought new leaderships to power intent on overturning longstanding political alignments following years of jihadist violence. The Moroccan initiative aims to "substantially transform the economy of these countries" and "the region", said King Mohammed VI when announcing it in late 2023. The "Dakhla Atlantic" port, scheduled for completion at El Argoub by 2028, also serves Rabat's goal of cementing its grip on Western Sahara after US President Donald Trump recognised its sovereignty over the territory in 2020. Morocco's regional rival Algeria backs the Polisario but has seen its relations with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger fray in recent months after the downing a Malian drone. Military coups over the past five years have seen the three Sahel states pivot towards Russia in a bid to restore their sovereignty and control over natural resources after decades within the sphere of influence of their former colonial ruler France. French troops were forced to abandon their bases in the three countries, ending their role in the fight against jihadists who have found sanctuary in the vast semi-arid region on the southern edge of the Sahara. - 'Godsend' - AFP | Abdel Majid BZIOUAT After both the African Union and West African bloc ECOWAS imposed economic sanctions on the new juntas, Morocco emerged as an early ally, with Niger calling the megaproject "a godsend". "Morocco was one of the first countries where we found understanding at a time when ECOWAS and other countries were on the verge of waging war against us," Niger's Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare said in April during a visit to Rabat alongside his Malian and Burkinabe counterparts. The Sahel countries established a bloc of their own -- the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) -- in September 2023 but have remained dependent on the ports of ECOWAS countries like Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo. Rising tensions with the West African bloc could restrict their access to those ports, boosting the appeal of the alternative trade outlet being offered by Rabat. - 'Many steps to take' - AFP | Abdel Majid BZIOUAT Morocco has been seeking to position itself as a middleman between Europe and the Sahel states, said Beatriz Mesa, a professor at the International University of Rabat. With jihadist networks like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group striking ever deeper into sub-Saharan Africa, the security threat has intensified since the departure of French-led troops. Morocco was now "profiting from these failures by placing itself as a reliable Global South partner", Mesa said. Its initiative has won the backing of key actors including the United States, France and the Gulf Arab states, who could provide financial support, according to specialist journal Afrique(s) en mouvement. But for now the proposed trade corridor is little more than an aspiration, with thousands of kilometres of desert road-building needed to turn it into a reality. "There are still many steps to take," since a road and rail network "doesn't exist", said Seidik Abba, head of the Sahel-focused think tank CIRES. Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South said the road route from Morocco through Western Sahara to Mauritania is "almost complete", even though it has been targeted by Polisario fighters. Abdelmalek Alaoui, head of the Moroccan Institute for Strategic Intelligence, said it could cost as much as $1 billion to build a land corridor through Mauritania, Mali and Niger all the way to Chad, 3,100 kilometres to the east. And even if the construction work is completed, insecurity is likely to pose a persistent threat to the corridor's viability, he said. By Anouk Riondet
eNCA
17 hours ago
- eNCA
Strike shuts down Bangladesh's biggest port
Operations at Bangladesh's biggest port were suspended on Sunday as a strike by customs officials brought shipping activity to a halt. The shutdown at Chittagong Port is part of an ongoing dispute between tax authority employees and the government, which is trying to overhaul the body. "The port typically handles around 7,000 to 8,000 containers daily... But since this morning, there has been no movement in offloading or onboarding of goods," said Mohammed Omar Faruq, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority. "This is having a huge impact on the country's economic situation," he told AFP. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports. Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the halt in port operations would cost the industry $222 million. "The cost of recovery will be staggering -- beyond comprehension -- and many factories risk going bankrupt," he told AFP. Staff at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have been striking on and off for weeks over plans to split the authority into two separate bodies. Bangladesh's interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, urged them to end the walkout. "We hope NBR's staff will report back to work setting aside their unlawful programme that goes against the national interest of the country," his office said in a statement. "Otherwise for the sake of the people of this country and safeguarding the economy the government will be left with no option but to act firmly," the statement added. NBR staff were prevented from entering their offices on Sunday after a government order sought to stop them from protesting within their building premises.
