The news: Apple will reportedly launch an AI-enabled web search tool powered by Google’s Gemini, potentially accelerating long-awaited software improvements and helping Apple enter the AI search race, per Bloomberg. The “answer engine” would be integrated with Siri and could help Apple compete with OpenAI and Perplexity. The feature, internally called World Knowledge Answers, will aggregate information from across the web into AI Overviews-esque summaries. It may eventually be added to Safari and Spotlight. Our take: Apple’s pivot toward external AI partnerships highlights how unready it is to compete head-to-head in foundational AI or search. While a Gemini integration could improve Siri and add powerful search capabilities, it could threaten Apple’s core advantage: total control over the user experience.

The news: Smartphone makers and developers may be misplacing their focus on on-device AI as consumer interest nose-dives from already low levels. Only 3% of smartphone owners are willing to pay extra for AI features, per CNET’s 2025 Smartphone Innovation Survey, down from 6% in September. Our take: Enterprise customers may be a better bet for on-device AI adoption considering public consumers’ disinterest and privacy concerns. To boost use among consumers, smartphone makers could focus on easy-to-use features that are accessible to those new to AI and roll out AI upgrades incrementally rather than all at once to avoid AI overload.

While iPhone and wearables sales slipped, Apple’s services revenues grew 13% YoY to $26.3 billion. Apple Intelligence hasn’t paid off yet, but monetizing Siri could give it a boost.

Update adds visual intelligence features, app integrations, and automatic opt-in for Apple Intelligence features—which could boost adoption, or annoy users.

Apple’s AI update embeds ChatGPT across iPhones and iPads, putting OpenAI’s tech at users’ fingertips and reshaping how genAI fits into daily life.

iPhone 16 sales falter as AI enhancements fail to excite consumers: Apple reduces production by 10 million units, signaling weak demand despite rolling out new AI tools in iOS 18.2 beta.