Dive Brief:
- Apple is working internally with generative AI, but the company is taking a slower, more cautious approach to customer-facing technology, CEO Tim Cook said during the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call Thursday.
- “Our M.O., if you will, has always been to do work and then talk about work and not to get out in front of ourselves,” Cook said during the earnings call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. “We’re going to hold that to this as well.”
- Cook said the company expects to announce more details on customer-facing generative AI efforts later this year.
Dive Insight:
Apple's approach to generative AI is a stark contrast with the mass of tech vendors racing to embed the technology's capabilities into products and new services.
“I think there's a huge opportunity for Apple with GenAI and AI, and without getting into more details and getting out in front of myself,” Cook said during the earnings call, continuing to keep specifics close to the chest.
Similarly, Apple has slowly and steadily found its place as an enterprise provider. In the PC space, Apple is poised to gain on its biggest competitors, Dell, HP and Lenovo as the market stabilizes, according to IDC research.
The company has a scale and familiarity advantage in the smartphone market, which could ease adoption hesitancy if generative AI is deployed in iPhones. Apple surpassed Samsung for the first time in global smartphone shipments last year, according to Counterpoint research published Friday.
Apple is also making inroads in enterprise adoption with its Apple Vision Pro headset. Early adopters include Walmart, Nike, Vanguard, Bloomberg and SAP.
“SAP has really gotten behind it and SAP is in so many companies,” Cook said during the earnings call. “I think there will be a great opportunity for us in enterprise, and we couldn't be more excited about where things are right now.”
