Apple's AI event falls flat as iPhone maker struggles
Apple's flagship annual showcase has fallen flat as the iPhone maker fails to allay concerns that it is falling behind on artificial intelligence.
The American tech giant was struck by a sell-off on Monday evening after it became apparent that its keynote presentation, led by chief executive Tim Cook, would only include minor software upgrades.
Investors sent the stock price down by as much as 1.9pc during the presentation, wiping as much as $65.3bn (£48bn) off its market capitalisation.
It comes amid growing frustration over Apple's failure to keep up with rivals on cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) developments.
Last month, Apple's former chief designer Sir Jony Ive seemingly took aim at the company, hitting out at the 'legacy' products on the market and the 'decades old' technology within them.
Sir Jony was speaking as he announced he was joining artificial intelligence rival OpenAI, in a $6.5bn (£4.8bn) deal expected to create a new generation of devices that could challenge the iPhone
On Monday night, Apple put great emphasis on a range of visual improvements it is making to all of its operating systems. It said iPads would now be able work like traditional Mac computers, with apps able to run in windows.
However, Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the event was 'overall a yawner' and that investors' patience was 'wearing thin'.
It follows years of setbacks for Apple as it battles to compete on artificial intelligence. While it was one of the first Silicon Valley companies to embrace AI with its voice assistant Siri, rivals have since rapidly overtaken its technology.
Last month, Mr Cook admitted on an earnings call that 'we need more time to complete our work on [improved Siri] features so they meet our high-quality bar'.
On Monday, Apple failed to announce any major AI updates for Siri. Reports have suggested that progress has been hampered by complications updating Siri using large language models.
The most notable AI announcement at the annual showcase was that it would give software developers access to the AI technology that is built into recent Apple devices.
Craig Federighi, Apple's software chief, said: 'We think this will ignite a whole new wave of intelligent experiences in the apps users rely on every day. We can't wait to see what developers create.'
The company introduced a live translation feature to phone calls. Customers will be able to speak in England to a French person and then hear their words read out in French.
Apple said it would also have a call screening feature that will work like a personal assistant, automatically answering calls from unknown people and asking them for information so that a customer can decide whether to take the call.
Thomas Monteiro, an analyst at Investing.com, said: 'In a moment in which the market questions Apple's ability to take any sort of lead in the AI space, the announced features felt incremental at best.'
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