I wasn’t surprised when Bloomberg recently reported that Apple was ending its Apple Car project. But I’m disappointed that we’re unlikely to see a project that has spent more than a decade in development.
Could this really be the first self-driving car? Regardless, I’m surprised to learn that Apple is shutting down such an ambitious initiative. I understand why, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gorman wrote: “The company’s board was also concerned about spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on a project that might never see the light of day.”
It’s a fair argument, and it’s certain that Apple’s stock price has risen significantly since the report came out. Why? Not just because Apple was going to save a lot of money, but because the same report said the move would free up resources to focus on new generative AI features. But recent reports have me worried about Apple’s AI strategy.
Apple + Google = Investors First?
You’ve heard of AI, right? It’s the buzzword that’s become the drinking game at every major tech event. OpenAI has opened the floodgates with ChatGPT and Google is trying to play catch-up with its Gemini product. And there are many other players in this exploding space, including Midjourney, Runway and Cloud.
Apple can’t buy its way to compete with the Galaxy S24 and its Galaxy AI features or the Google Pixel 8. Apple needs to innovate.
Now Apple is reportedly mulling a deal with Google that would see CEO Tim Cook bring Gemini AI features to the iPhone. Bloomberg broke the story and then The New York Times backed up the rumor with a report of its own.
One could see this as an extension of Apple’s long-standing agreement with Google, for which Apple pays Google more than $18 billion a year to make it the default search engine in the iPhone’s Safari browser.
Sure enough, Apple stock has been on the rise since these new reports surfaced. But that’s not the way I want to see Apple enter the AI race. Apple can’t buy a way to compete with the Galaxy S24 and its Galaxy AI features or the Google Pixel 8 and its creative AI goodies. Apple needs to innovate.
New AI Ground-Breaking or Relearning?
During Apple’s annual shareholder meeting in late February, Tim Cook promised that the company would “break new ground in productivity AI.” But now I’m wondering if Apple will reread the ground instead.
Rumor has it that Apple has big plans for iOS 18 and specifically a new version of Siri. In fact, we’re hearing that iOS 18 will be the biggest iPhone software update ever because Apple is working on these AI features. But I worry that this rumored deal will look like Apple is taking a compatibility shortcut to appease investors.
It’s far from a mainstream hit but I love an Apple that “thinks different” and takes bold risks. Take the Apple Vision Pro—it’s bulky and expensive, but it’s also an amazing look at the future of computing and entertainment. And I also love the fact that Apple decided to move forward with this product despite reports of an internal battle within the company over whether the headset was ready for prime time.
Now Apple can improve Vision Pro as it reportedly accelerates development of a low-cost headset and eventually produces true AR Apple Glasses. Could this entire category explode? Probably. Apparently Sony has stopped making the PSVR 2 headset due to high inventory. But I think Apple has a really good chance to lead the category — investors be damned.
Now is the time to think differently.
So back to AI. I’m excited to see what Apple can do with generative AI. And while I’m tempted to get into bed with Google for a short-term boost, I worry that Apple is compromising its principles to please Wall Street. Plugging into someone else’s search engine is one thing. But partnering with Google to bring its creative AI platform to the iPhone seems uninspired.
For Apple to truly compete, it will need to put consumers first — not investors — and leverage AI in new and creative ways that are quintessentially Apple.