Apple has largely stayed on the sidelines of the AI revolution that has defined 2024 and 2025, with its long-anticipated next-generation Siri delayed until "the coming year" after being initially slated for 2025. The company, which has not made a major AI product launch since introducing Apple Intelligence in 2024, is now under growing pressure to deliver. While features like AI-powered notification summarization and photo editing have been well-received, other elements—such as the AI rewrite of news app alerts—were briefly disabled due to inaccuracies, underscoring the challenges in rolling out consumer-facing AI. The delay in Siri’s upgrade, announced in March, reflects Apple’s cautious approach. CEO Tim Cook has assured investors that progress is strong, and analysts like Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management believe Apple is setting the stage for a "blow-you-away" reveal. The company’s stock has risen 12% in 2025, driven by strong iPhone 17 sales and optimistic revenue projections, but this growth contrasts sharply with the 60% surge in Google’s stock, fueled by its dominant AI infrastructure and cloud-based models. While rivals like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon have poured tens of billions into AI data centers and generative tools—Google’s Gemini 3, Microsoft’s AI agent software, and Meta’s Avocado model all highlight the pace of innovation—Apple has taken a different path. It has focused on on-device AI, using its own custom chips to prioritize user privacy, rather than relying on Nvidia GPUs in cloud servers. This strategy, while privacy-forward, has limited its ability to match the scale of generative AI seen in ChatGPT, Sora 2, and Alexa’s recent upgrades. Apple’s leadership shake-up in December further signals a shift. John Giannandrea, its top AI strategist, will retire in 2026, with his duties split among COO Sabih Khan, services chief Eddy Cue, and new hire Amar Subramanya—former head of engineering for Google Gemini and Microsoft AI. The public announcement of Subramanya’s appointment underscores Apple’s intent to signal urgency in its AI ambitions. Despite the lack of a public AI strategy, Apple remains confident. The iPhone 17 is a commercial success, and Apple is expected to top the global smartphone market in 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. Analysts note that while AI features from competitors have not yet significantly altered the smartphone experience, the long-term threat is real. Eddy Cue warned in a May trial that AI could render smartphones obsolete within a decade, as new devices with AI-native interfaces emerge. The most direct threat may come from OpenAI, which acquired Jony Ive’s startup io for $6.4 billion earlier this year. Ive, Apple’s legendary designer, is now helping build AI-first hardware—devices Altman claims will prioritize calm, intuitive interaction over smartphones. Yet Ive has said such devices won’t launch for about two years, giving Apple a window to act. As the next generation of Siri looms, the stakes are high. Investors, analysts, and the public are waiting not just for a new assistant, but for proof that Apple’s AI vision is clear. As Munster put it: “They’ve got to deliver a 10 out of 10 when this new Siri comes out.” The next 12 months will define whether Apple can reassert its leadership in the age of AI.