Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California, on September 9, 2025.
Manuel Orbegoso | Reuters
apple has an outrageous mulligan ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026.
Apple missed its promise to launch Siri, which is powered by artificial intelligence, in March, but said it plans to do so in the new year.
The stakes are huge.
Apple’s AI failures this year have added to the pressure to deliver breakthrough AI experiences on the iPhone. Another repeat of this fantasy would only solidify the idea that Apple is far behind its peers in AI and is at risk of losing control of the next major computing platform to its next rival. google Or a startup like OpenAI.
Not only that, Apple must prove to investors that AI can generate meaningful revenue growth after years of post-pandemic stagnation.
How Apple got here
Long before the calendar turned to a new year, we knew 2025 would be a difficult year for Apple.
As President Donald Trump’s inauguration approaches, no major tech company has been more exposed to his impending tariff plans than Apple.
Then the question of AI loomed.
Apple released limited features of its Apple Intelligence system in the fall, but the actual update, an AI-powered version of Siri that Apple touted as a key feature of iPhone 16, was scheduled to be released in early 2025.
Apple stock had hit new highs on hopes for a groundbreaking AI experience built into the iPhone.
It was all in vain.
It took Apple CEO Tim Cook months to play politician and persuade the president to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years. It culminated in a stunning moment in which Mr. Cook handed the president a glass trophy with a solid gold pedestal in the Oval Office.
The ruse worked.
Analysts said most of the spending promised by Mr. Cook was already priced in, but the president thought it was enough. President Trump dropped the requirement for Apple to manufacture iPhones in the United States, giving Cook the tariff relief he had hoped for.
Apple stock soared after the tariff issue was resolved. Since the Oval Office show, the stock has risen about 35%.
Let’s try again…
Now Apple must solve the AI problem.
Following the exodus of top executives, including AI chief John Gianandrea, Apple has announced it has a team in place to deliver an upgrade to Siri in 2026, but that could take up to 21 months from the original announcement.
Apple needs the new Siri to be good. It’s not only good enough to rival the capabilities of popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, but it’s also good enough to convince users with older iPhones to upgrade and use a newer device.
Apple Intelligence requires iPhone 15 Pro or later.
That was the Apple bull incident a year ago. The new version of Apple Intelligence, especially Siri, will be so great that people will get new iPhones just to use it. That elusive iPhone “supercycle” was just around the corner.
no. Probably next year.
Investors’ best bet is to watch Apple stock boom due to AI.
OpenAI charges a $20 monthly fee to use the full version of ChatGPT, but Apple does not charge a fee for Apple Intelligence. Unless Apple changes its strategy and starts charging subscriptions, its only hope is to leverage AI to launch new iPhones, Macs, and iPads.
It also gives Apple an opportunity to launch different types of hardware products, including smart glasses, which are rumored to be available as soon as next fall. But don’t expect such accessories to move Apple’s needle much.
It’s hard to miss what Apple has done with AI this year. Especially when it comes to something as important and transformative as AI. Fortunately for Apple, it’s still in the early stages of the AI game. And this year, the iPhone 17 lineup proved that new hardware designs and features can lead to increased sales.
However, you can only fail once. There will be no chance for a mulligan.
