A turning point for Apple.

2026 is a crucial year for Apple to catch up with its rivals in the AI ​​race, with plans to upgrade Apple Intelligence and introduce a new version of Siri.

While users are constantly experiencing new versions of ChatGPT or Gemini, Apple is still struggling with AI and the next version of Siri.

Apple typically keeps its product launch roadmap secret, but Siri is an exception. The company had planned to launch a new version of the assistant in 2025. However, in March, Apple representatives admitted they had to postpone the feature's launch until next year to ensure quality.

As users become increasingly familiar with advanced chatbots, pressure to catch up with competitors is mounting on Apple. Therefore, 2026 will be a crucial year for Apple, not because of new hardware, but because of the AI ​​race.

Apple's dilemma

Back in October, CEO Tim Cook told investors that progress on the new version of Siri at Apple was quite positive. According to analyst Gene Munster from Deepwater Asset Management, this significantly raised expectations in the tech industry.

"Essentially, Apple wants to send the message that you shouldn't worry about AI this year, because what they're bringing next year will be explosive," Munster told CNBC .

Apple's stock has risen 12% since the beginning of 2025, largely due to the success of the iPhone 17 series launched in September. However, Android giant Google has consistently garnered attention thanks to its new AI models and processors, helping its stock increase by more than 60% since the start of the year.

According to CNBC , AI is a term frequently mentioned by many Silicon Valley companies in 2025, with the exception of Apple. For example, OpenAI created a sensation with Sora, a video -sharing platform using the AI ​​model of the same name, which briefly topped the App Store rankings.

Anthropic also launched several new Claude models, while Amazon improved its Alexa assistant. In November, Microsoft launched AI agent management software, a term referring to AI programs that can operate autonomously for hours at a time.

Apple Intelligence advertisements at Apple stores. Photo: Bloomberg .

Even Meta, a company facing significant changes in its AI strategy, is preparing to launch its next model called Avocado. Nvidia has overtaken Apple to become the largest technology company by market capitalization thanks to the growing demand for AI chips.

In 2025, Nvidia will ship the Grace Blackwell NVL72 AI supercomputer system, which will connect 72 separate AI GPUs, with an estimated price of $3 million .

In comparison, Apple's AI advancements have been rather lackluster since the announcement of Apple Intelligence in 2024. The suite includes tools for image creation, text processing, notification summarization, and ChatGPT integration for some tasks.

To date, user feedback on Apple Intelligence has been mixed. While features like notification filtering and photo editing have been praised, many other tools have been controversial. For example, the company had to temporarily disable the notification summary feature from the News app due to inaccurate and misleading summaries.

Siri is the most notable upgrade to Apple Intelligence, but it's being delayed until early 2026. In an interview with the WSJ in June, Greg Joswiak, Apple's Global Marketing Director, emphasized that the company "doesn't want to disappoint its customers."

Waiting too long

At the WWDC 2025 developer conference in June, Apple mentioned AI very little. The company only highlighted improved AI performance on its new chips, along with some new features like live translation on AirPods and intelligent call filtering. The company didn't have any surprising features like its competitors, especially regarding chatbots and AI generation.

Towards the end of the year, Apple's AI team saw significant changes. In early December, the company announced that John Giannandrea, Head of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, would retire in 2026.

His responsibilities were delegated to other leaders such as Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan, Chief Services Officer Eddy Cue, and Chief AI Officer Amar Subramanya, former Google and Microsoft employees.

Subramanya will report directly to Software Engineering Director Craig Federighi. The recruitment of Subramanya is noteworthy, as Apple typically doesn't disclose much about its engineering staff, especially if they're new and not reporting directly to Cook.

The announcement of Subramanya's job opening may be intended to demonstrate to the public and investors that Apple is boldly changing its AI leadership to drive better development.

Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple. Photo: Bloomberg .

Apple has chosen a different approach from its competitors. While Google, Microsoft, and Amazon invest tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars in data centers to support cloud-based AI operations, Apple's figure was only about $12.71 billion in the fiscal year ending in September. This investment increased by 35% compared to the previous year, but was lower than in 2018.

Instead of using Nvidia chips on its servers for Apple Intelligence, Apple uses its own self-developed chips to secure information. Even so, the company still faces the challenge of finding partners to operate certain AI features, including Siri.

The expected upgrades to Siri will revolve around automation features and more natural user interaction. Currently, Siri needs access to ChatGPT for some complex queries. Apple is also considering adopting other models, including Google's Gemini.

CEO Tim Cook affirmed that Apple is ready to pursue major acquisitions, although this is unlikely given the high valuations of AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic.

OpenAI was valued at $500 billion in its October stock sale, while Anthropic was valued at $350 billion in November. For comparison, Apple's largest acquisition in history was its 2014 purchase of Beats for $3 billion .

Apple's reluctance to spend heavily on AI has raised concerns among some investors about the company's strategy, adding further pressure on plans to upgrade Siri.

"Investors have been 'going gray' waiting for Apple to announce its AI strategy. It's time they showed the world what that strategy is," said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

The real rival

Even as investors worry that Apple has fallen behind in the field of AI, a key segment of the company continues to thrive.

Since its launch in September, the iPhone 17 has consistently sold well. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research , Apple is likely to surpass Samsung to become the world's largest smartphone manufacturer by market share in 2025 and 2026.

According to analyst Yang Wang from Counterpoint Research , AI has not yet impacted iPhone sales. Currently, AI from other companies has not significantly changed the daily smartphone user experience.

"We believe this doesn't pose a major threat to Apple, simply because competitors haven't really created a breakthrough yet," Wang commented.

Contrary to user and analyst opinions, Apple itself views AI as very important. At a court hearing in May, Eddy Cue emphasized that AI is developing so rapidly that users may not need iPhones in the next 10 years.

According to Apple representatives, the reason is that specialized devices can use AI to create interfaces and features that smartphones cannot.

Visual Intelligence mode on iPhone. Photo: The Verge .

In fact, some early AI devices have already appeared on the market. Meta's Ray-Ban sunglasses use AI to identify objects within their field of vision. Not long ago, Meta announced the acquisition of Limitless, a startup that produces AI-integrated pendants that support recording and summarizing conversations.

However, the biggest threat may come from Apple's own partner. Earlier this year, OpenAI acquired io for $6.4 billion . This is an AI device startup founded by "design legend" Jony Ive, the creator of groundbreaking products like the iPod and iPhone.

OpenAI and io are collaborating on the development of a new AI device. In November, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company had completed its first prototypes.

By December, Altman admitted to the media that OpenAI's real competitor wasn't Google, but Apple. Speaking to the WSJ , he argued that conventional smartphones "aren't very suitable" for AI-related assistants or applications.

At least Apple still has time to compete. Ive said in November that the device wouldn't launch for at least another two years.

"They have more time than we think to find a solution. However, in the short term, Siri needs to score a perfect 10/10," Munster said.

Source: https://znews.vn/buoc-ngoat-with-apple-post1615032.html