Latest news with #GeneMunster
CNBC
16 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
We're still in very early stages of AI, says Deepwater's Gene Munster on tech resurgence
Gene Munster, Deepwater Asset Management, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk what's ahead for Apple and how to play the tech resurgence.
CNBC
09-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
The bar for Apple's WWDC is so low, says Deepwater's Gene Munster
Rosenblatt's Barton Crockett and Deepwater Asset's Gene Munster, join 'The Exchange' to discuss Apple as CEO Tim Cook takes the stage at it's annual WWDC event.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
WWDC 2025: Apple's make-or-break moment for AI redemption
As Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is set to begin today, the tech giant faces unprecedented scrutiny over its artificial intelligence strategy. The company's annual developer showcase, known simply as WWDC, has historically served as a platform for unveiling the next generation of iOS, macOS, and other operating systems. However, this year's conference carries extra weight as industry analysts and critics demand answers about Apple's struggling AI initiatives. The AI albatross around Apple's neck Apple's artificial intelligence efforts, branded as 'Apple Intelligence,' have become a source of considerable embarrassment for a company renowned for polished, intuitive products. Bloomberg's recent analysis painted a troubling picture, with insiders suggesting that 'continued failure to get artificial intelligence right threatens everything from the iPhone's dominance to plans for robots and other futuristic products.' The problems with Apple Intelligence extend beyond mere performance issues. The system has generated significant negative publicity due to factual errors in its news summarization features. These mistakes aren't minor inconveniences but serious misinformation incidents that have drawn criticism from major news organizations and highlighted what some observers call artificial intelligence's growing misinformation problem. To understand why this matters, it's important to grasp what Apple Intelligence was supposed to accomplish. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT that operate primarily in web browsers or dedicated apps, Apple Intelligence was designed to be deeply integrated into the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems. This integration would theoretically allow the AI to help users across all their daily computing tasks, from writing emails to organizing photos to providing intelligent suggestions based on personal data. However, the reality has fallen far short of these ambitions. The AI features that have been released feel underwhelming compared to competitors' offerings, leading many iPhone owners to see little value in the technology that Apple has positioned as a key selling point for its latest devices. Industry analysts sound the alarm The tech analysts community has been particularly vocal about Apple's AI struggles. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is widely respected for his insights into Apple's product pipeline, has warned that 'the fallout could hit iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 sales through 2025.' This prediction is significant because iPhone sales represent Apple's largest revenue stream, making any threat to the product line a serious concern for investors and the company's long-term prospects. However, not all analysts share this pessimistic outlook. Gene Munster, a notable technology analyst, offers a contrarian view, suggesting that 'Apple's struggles in AI aren't a real problem yet, and won't be for a couple more years.' This perspective reflects a belief that Apple has time to correct course before AI capabilities become truly essential for smartphone competitiveness. The disagreement among analysts highlights the uncertainty surrounding Apple's position in the AI landscape. While some see immediate threats to the company's market dominance, others believe Apple's strong brand loyalty and integrated ecosystem provide a buffer against competitive pressures. What WWDC 2025 must deliver Against this backdrop of criticism and uncertainty, 'Apple stakeholders want to hear how the company's approach to AI has changed' at this year's developer conference. The pressure on Apple to demonstrate meaningful progress cannot be overstated, as the company's credibility in the AI space hangs in the balance. Industry observers expect Apple to focus heavily on software improvements rather than hardware announcements. 'Apple will likely focus on the next iOS, which is rumored to have the most significant design change since the introduction of iOS 7.' iOS 7, released in 2013, represented a complete visual overhaul of Apple's mobile operating system, abandoning the skeuomorphic design elements that had defined earlier versions in favor of a flatter, more modern aesthetic. The comparison to iOS 7 suggests that Apple may be planning fundamental changes to how users interact with their devices, potentially centering these interactions around improved AI capabilities. This would represent a bet-the-company moment for Apple's AI strategy, as major design overhauls are relatively rare and carry significant risks if users reject the changes. Beyond iOS improvements, analysts anticipate updates to iPadOS (the iPad's operating system), macOS (for Mac computers), and potentially new versions of other Apple software platforms. The company is also expected to demonstrate how these various operating systems will work together more seamlessly, leveraging AI to create what industry insiders call 'continuity' between devices. The broader context of AI competition To understand the stakes for Apple at WWDC 2025, it's crucial to consider the competitive landscape the company faces. While Apple has struggled with its AI implementation, competitors have made significant strides in integrating artificial intelligence into their products and services. Google has embedded AI capabilities throughout its Android operating system and various applications, while Microsoft has partnered with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT-like functionality to Windows and Office applications. Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant have established voice-activated AI as a standard feature in smart homes, while Apple's Siri has been widely criticized for lagging behind in capabilities and reliability. This competitive pressure has created what industry observers describe as an 'AI arms race' among major technology companies. The winners of this race will likely capture disproportionate market share and influence how consumers interact with technology for years to come. For Apple, falling behind in this competition could undermine its position across multiple product categories, from smartphones to computers to future innovations in augmented reality and autonomous vehicles. The developer community's role WWDC's primary audience consists of software developers who create applications for Apple's various platforms. These developers serve as a crucial bridge between Apple's AI capabilities and end-user experiences. If Apple can provide developers with powerful, easy-to-use AI tools, the resulting applications could help differentiate Apple devices from competitors even if Apple's own AI implementation remains imperfect. The developer community has been watching Apple's AI strategy with particular interest because artificial intelligence tools can significantly enhance app functionality. Developers want access to advanced AI capabilities for tasks such as natural language processing, image recognition, and predictive analytics. However, they also need these tools to be reliable, well-documented, and integrated smoothly with existing development frameworks. Apple's challenge lies in providing developers with AI capabilities that are both powerful enough to enable innovative applications and stable enough to support commercial products. The company's reputation for providing high-quality developer tools could help offset some concerns about its consumer-facing AI features, but only if the underlying technology proves robust and capable. Looking beyond the immediate crisis While much attention focuses on Apple's current AI struggles, WWDC 2025 also represents an opportunity for the company to outline its longer-term vision for artificial intelligence integration. Apple has historically excelled at taking emerging technologies and refining them into user-friendly products that achieve mass market adoption, even if the company wasn't first to market with the underlying technology. The iPhone itself exemplifies this approach. While smartphones existed before 2007, Apple's implementation created the template that the entire industry eventually adopted. Similarly, Apple might use its current AI setbacks as motivation to develop a more thoughtful, privacy-focused approach to artificial intelligence that ultimately proves more appealing to consumers than competitors' offerings. Privacy considerations represent one area where Apple might differentiate its AI strategy. While many AI systems rely on cloud-based processing that requires sharing user data with remote servers, Apple has emphasized on-device processing that keeps personal information local to the user's hardware. This approach aligns with Apple's broader privacy marketing message but also creates technical challenges in implementing sophisticated AI features. As WWDC 2025 unfolds, the technology industry will be watching closely to see whether Apple can transform its AI narrative from one of embarrassing missteps to renewed innovation leadership. The stakes couldn't be higher for a company that has built its reputation on delivering products that 'just work' but now finds itself struggling with technology that, at best, works inconsistently and, at worst, actively misleads users. The conference represents more than just another product announcement cycle. For Apple, WWDC 2025 may determine whether the company can maintain its position as a technology trendsetter or whether it will be relegated to following competitors' lead in the most important technological shift since the introduction of the smartphone itself.
Khaleej Times
08-06-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Apple under pressure to shine after stumbling on AI efforts
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 on 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 criticised 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. One of the things Apple has going for it is that its fans are known for their loyalty and likely to remain faithful regardless of how much time it takes the company to get its AI act together, Milanesi said. "Do people want a smarter Siri? Yeah," Milanesi said. "But if you are in Apple, you're in Apple and you'll continue to buy their stuff."
New Indian Express
08-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Apple under pressure to shine after AI stumble
SAN FRANCISCO: 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-criticised 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 rumoured 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.
