Apple Has Long Been Pivoting to a Software Model, But Its New CEO Cut His Teeth on Hardware Engineering. Does That Mean a Big AI Pivot Isn’t Coming?

It was easy to pick Apple (AAPL) as the top pick for 2026 at the beginning of the year. The company was finally bringing in an AI addition to Siri while riding a strong product cycle and consumer demand for its products. No one, however, could have predicted that just weeks into the second quarter of the year, the company would decide to change the man who was the number one at the Cupertino-based firm since 2011.  

Tim Cook’s departure is surprising, not because he was clearly great at his job, but because if it was based on the lack of AI achievements, it came far too late. Apple’s underwhelming innovation in artificial intelligence was noticed by everyone in 2024. First, the launch was delayed. Then it was said that China won’t have access to Apple intelligence features due to local laws requiring AI models to be based in China. At the same time, Chinese phonemakers were openly flaunting their AI achievements that were far ahead of what Apple was planning. Apple’s innovation edge had disappeared.