pple's playbook: enter late, do it better, make it mainstream. AI hardware could be next.
In an internal meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke to employees about the importance of the AI moment, calling it “one of the most profound opportunities of our entire lifetime,” and highlighted the company's strong position to deliver meaningful AI features to customers, according to a Bloomberg report. One way the company plans to do so: hardware.
“There will be new categories of products and services that are enabled through AI, and we’re extremely excited about that,” said Cook. “We’re excited about the opportunities that it opens for Apple.”
This would be a different approach for Apple, which, to date, has had limited success competing in the AI race. Despite announcing an AI overhaul for Siri at WWDC 2024 to make the AI assistant a more advanced personal intelligence system, it has yet to deliver on the promise.
Yet, this year, Apple is preparing to turn things around, with the first step being its multi-year agreement with Google to use Gemini’s AI models to power its next-gen version of Siri. Apple also has plans to turn Siri into the company’s first artificial intelligence chatbot with the launch of iOS 27, according to another Bloomberg report. While these voice assistant updates have been highly anticipated, delving into hardware would open a new frontier.
AI devices are gaining traction, with smartglasses being the first big hit. Shipments grew 110% YoY in the first half of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis recently said the Gemini-powered Samsung smartglasses could arrive as soon as this summer.
While other AI wearable form factors, such as rings, pins, and more, have emerged, none have taken off with consumers. OpenAI is developing its much-anticipated AI hardware device in collaboration with Jony Ive, Apple's former design lead. That may be the first real stab at a mainstream AI device. The latest reports suggest it will be a smart AI earbud.
Still, Apple has a huge advantage in hardware. It knows how to build high-quality, well-designed devices, and it has a loyal early-adopter base ready to buy. It can also pair the device with a valuable set of services for music, fitness, and more. Most importantly, it has a track record of popularizing new device categories. However, that may depend on Apple taking a creative leap and not sticking to a safe choice, such as an Alexa-like AI smart speaker with a screen that has reportedly been in the works.