Will AI make the iPhone obsolete? Here’s what Tim Cook says…

While there is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence enabled devices taking the reins from smartphones in the coming years, Apple CEO Tim Cook is not fazed by these concerns.

During Apple’s earnings call on Thursday, Cook was asked if on-screen-based devices would significantly diminish due to AI.

In response, Cook said (as per Business Insider), “When you think about all the things an iPhone can do, from connecting people to bringing app and game experiences to life, to taking photos and videos, to helping users explore the world and conduct their financial lives and pay for things and so much more, it is difficult to see a world where the iPhone is not living in it.”

“And that does not mean we are not thinking about other things as well,” Cook added.

Apple is betting heavily on AI

Meanwhile, Cook also revealed during the earnings call that Apple is betting heavily on AI and is open to acquisitions to accelerate its growth.

“Apple has always been about taking the most advanced technologies and making them easy to use and accessible for everyone, and that is at the heart of our AI strategy,” Cook said.

“We are open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap,” he added.

Cook also noted that Apple is embedding AI across its devices, platforms and the company as a whole.

A Bloomberg report earlier this year revealed that Apple had internally considered acquiring AI search startup Perplexity. The company already uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT for handling complex queries through its Siri voice assistant. However, there are reports that Apple may rely more heavily on OpenAI or Anthropic for its AI models in future.

While Apple announced its AI features under the Apple Intelligence branding in June last year, some of them, including the AI-enhanced Siri, have not yet been released.

Cook commented on Siri’s progress during the earnings call, noting, “We are making good progress on a more personalized Siri.”

“We are also reallocating a fair number of people to focus on AI features within the company,” he added.