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Economic Times
03-08-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Apple CEO Tim Cook tells staff AI is ‘ours to grab' in hourlong pep talk
Bloomberg Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, holding a rare all-hands meeting following earnings results, rallied employees around the company's artificial intelligence prospects and an 'amazing' pipeline of products. The executive gathered staff at Apple's on-campus auditorium Friday in Cupertino, California, telling them that the AI revolution is 'as big or bigger' as the internet, smartphones, cloud computing and apps. 'Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab,' Cook told employees, according to people aware of the meeting. 'We will make the investment to do it.' The iPhone maker has been late to AI, debuting Apple Intelligence months after OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Microsoft Corp. and others flooded the market with products like ChatGPT. And when Apple finally released its AI tools, they fell flat. But Cook struck an optimistic tone, noting that Apple is typically late to promising new technologies. 'We've rarely been first,' the executive told staffers. 'There was a PC before the Mac; there was a smartphone before the iPhone; there were many tablets before the iPad; there was an MP3 player before iPod.'But Apple invented the 'modern' versions of those product categories, he said. 'This is how I feel about AI.'An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the hourlong meeting addressed a range of topics, including the retirement of operating chief Jeff Williams, increasing Apple TV+ viewership and advances in health care with features like the AirPods Pro hearing-aid technology. It also touched on donations and community service by Apple employees, the company's goal to become carbon neutral by 2030, and the impact of regulations.'The reality is that Big Tech is under a lot of scrutiny around the world,' Cook said. 'We need to continue to push on the intention of the regulation and get them to offer that up, instead of these things that destroy the user experience and user privacy and security.'Cook often holds town hall-style chats when visiting Apple's offices around the world, but companywide meetings from the Steve Jobs Theater at headquarters are remarks followed a blockbuster earnings report, with sales growing nearly 10% during the June quarter. That beat Wall Street expectations and eased concerns about iPhone demand and a slowdown in still faces myriad challenges, including Trump administration tariffs and a regulatory crackdown on its business practices. The company said Thursday that tariffs would bring a $1.1 billion headwind this quarter, though Apple was upbeat about sales growth. It also said that App Store revenue rose by a percentage in the double digits last quarter, despite efforts in the EU and elsewhere to further restrict that comments he made during the earnings conference call, Cook told employees the company is investing in AI in a 'big way.' He said 12,000 workers were hired in the last year, with 40% of the new hires joining in research and development roles. Apple's chip development efforts, led by executive Johny Srouji, are key to the company's AI strategy, Cook said. Apple is working on a more powerful cloud-computing chip — code-named Baltra — to power artificial intelligence features, Bloomberg News has reported. It's also setting up a new AI server manufacturing facility in Houston. The meeting included Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, who discussed the future of Apple's Siri voice assistant. The company had planned to roll out a Siri overhaul as part of Apple Intelligence earlier this year, adding the ability to tap into user data to better fulfill requests. It was delayed, spurring management changes for the company's AI work. Federighi explained that the problem was caused by trying to roll out a version of Siri that merged two different systems: one for handling current commands — like setting timers — and another based on large language models, the software behind generative AI. 'We initially wanted to do a hybrid architecture, but we realized that approach wasn't going to get us to Apple quality,' Federighi Apple is working on a version of Siri that moves to an entirely new architecture for all of its capabilities. That iteration is slated for as early as spring, Bloomberg News has reported, though Apple executives haven't confirmed a timeline other than a release next year.'The work we've done on this end-to-end revamp of Siri has given us the results we needed,' the engineering executive told employees. 'This has put us in a position to not just deliver what we announced, but to deliver a much bigger upgrade than we envisioned. There is no project people are taking more seriously.' Federighi cited leadership changes, including putting Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell and his headset software leadership team in charge of Siri, as a driving force in improving the product. He said Rockwell and his group have 'supercharged' the company's work in the area. In his speech, Cook also pushed employees to move more quickly to weave AI into their work and future products. 'All of us are using AI in a significant way already, and we must use it as a company as well,' Cook said. 'To not do so would be to be left behind, and we can't do that.' Employees should push to deploy AI tools faster, and urge their managers and service and support teams to do the same, he also addressed the company's retail strategy, stressing that the current plan is to focus on opening new stores in emerging markets and upping the investment in Apple's online store. The iPhone maker is opening outlets in India, the United Arab Emirates and China this year, and is preparing to add its first location in Saudi Arabia next year. 'We need to be in more countries, and you'll see us go into more emerging markets in particular,' Cook said. That doesn't mean Apple will ignore other places, he said, but a 'disproportionate amount of growth' will be in new areas. The CEO also shared his enthusiasm about upcoming products, though he didn't get specific. 'I have never felt so much excitement and so much energy before as right now,' he News has previously reported that Apple plans to launch its first foldable iPhone next year and is also working on a stream of smart home devices. New headset products, smart glasses, a push into robotics and a redesigned iPhone for the two-decade anniversary are also underway.'The product pipeline, which I can't talk about: It's amazing, guys. It's amazing,' Cook said. 'Some of it you'll see soon, some of it will come later, but there's a lot to see.' Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Zomato delivered, but did the other listed unicorns? US tariff hike to hit Indian exports, may push RBI towards rate cuts Will TCS layoffs open the floodgates of mass firing at Indian IT firms? Indian IT firms never reveal the truth hiding behind 'strong' deal wins Is Bajaj Finance facing its HDFC Bank moment? 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The Star
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Apple readies feature that lets Vision Pro users scroll with their eyes
Customers try the Apple Vision Pro headset inside an Apple store in San Francisco, California, US. The eye-scrolling capability is being tested as part of visionOS 3, an upcoming version of the Vision Pro's operating system, according to sources. — Bloomberg Apple Inc is developing a feature for its Vision Pro headset that lets users scroll through software with their eyes, aiming to enhance the device with a novel interface. The eye-scrolling capability is being tested as part of visionOS 3, an upcoming version of the Vision Pro's operating system, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Already, the headset lets users navigate the software by looking at objects and then selecting them by pinching their fingers. The idea is to leverage the Vision Pro's existing eye-tracking hardware and software to take the system a step further, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the technology is still under wraps. Apple is planning to introduce the new Vision Pro operating system at its annual developer conference starting on June 9. The company also is slated to introduce major upgrades to iOS, iPadOS and macOS at that event, including changes that will make the software experience on those platforms feel more cohesive. On May 13, the iPhone maker announced a slew of upcoming accessibility upgrades for Apple devices, including support for companies working on neural-controlled interfaces. The team working on visionOS got an overhaul last month. Staff moved out of the prior Vision Products Group into a new combined Siri and visionOS software team within the company's software engineering organisation. A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment. The eye-scrolling feature will work across all of Apple's built-in apps on the Vision Pro, which starts at US$3,499 (RM15,007), and the company is preparing a way for developers to integrate the technology into their own software. Apple continues to add new features to the device – despite it not being a commercial hit – in a bid to show off the product's underlying capabilities and improve the experience for current users. At the same time, Apple is working on future hardware devices for the Vision product line. That includes a lighter version, as well as a model that tethers to a Mac for using applications that require low latency, or a minimal lag. The company is also working on smart glasses – both with and without augmented reality. The AR product is likely to someday run the same operating system as the Vision Pro. Several years ago, Samsung Electronics Co added an eye-scrolling feature to its smartphones, taking advantage of the devices' front-facing cameras. But the option never caught on with consumers. Apple added an eye-tracking feature to the iPhone and iPad last year, also using the front camera, as an option geared toward people with disabilities. It lets them control an on-screen pointer rather than scrolling through apps and content. In March, Apple rolled out visionOS 2.4, a notable update that brought a new Spatial Gallery app for viewing 3D content. It also added the Apple Intelligence platform and more deeply integrated the software with the iPhone. Apple is preparing to launch iOS 19 alongside the new visionOS and will include features like an AI-powered battery optimisation mode and a live-translate system for AirPods. – Bloomberg
The Star
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Apple reshuffles government affairs and music divisions in latest changes
In the new structure, the Asia and Europe teams will be on the same reporting level as US government affairs. — Bloomberg Apple Inc is shuffling the management of its global affairs and music divisions in separate moves, extending a series of recent changes at the iPhone maker, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The global affairs reorganisation includes adjusting management of the government teams for Europe, India, China and other parts of Asia, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the personnel moves haven't been announced. Apple Music, meanwhile, will get a fresh leadership structure – with two co-heads reporting to Oliver Schusser, a top company vice president who previously led the unit. The organisational changes are just the latest moves for Apple this year. The company reshuffled its retail division, elevating Vanessa Trigub to global head of retail stores. Daniel DiCicco, head of retail real estate, recently left to become the chief of Louis Vuitton in China. On the product side, Apple has also reorganised its Siri and robotics divisions. A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment on the changes. As part of the government affairs revamp, the heads of Europe and Asia will now report to Lisa Jackson, a former Obama administration official and vice president who reports directly to chief executive officer Tim Cook. They'll be moved from the oversight of Nick Ammann, the vice president of global policy. At the same time, Ammann, who answers to Jackson, will see the India and China groups report to him. Jackson, who oversees all Apple government affairs, is also responsible for the company's work on the environment, education and accessibility. The government affairs team is an increasingly critical piece of Apple. The company is facing mounting regulatory scrutiny around the world, as well as the fallout from Trump administration tariffs. It's been coping with the upheaval by shifting some device production to India from China, where export tariffs are poised to be higher. Matt Browne and Elizabeth Hernandez, who run the Europe and Asia government affairs teams, will no longer have Ammann as their boss. The heads of the China and India government groups – Frank Fan and Virat Bhatia – are now under Ammann. In the new structure, the Asia and Europe teams will be on the same reporting level as US government affairs, which is run by executive Tim Powderly. Ammann remains Apple's point person for working with the Trump administration. That's a role he played during Trump's first presidency as well. Apple is under fire in the European Union, which continues to hit it with fines and other penalties and press the company to make changes to its operating systems. That's an area Browne has overseen under Ammann – responsibility that will now shift under Jackson. The company is also dealing with competition issues in Japan and South Korea, areas that Hernandez administers. Before the changes, Ammann had managed, with Hernandez, a five-month public dispute with the government of Indonesia, which pushed Apple to make major investments in the region in order to get the green-light for local iPhone 16 sales. Apple ultimately agreed to build some AirTags and mesh components for the AirPods Max headphones there to reach a truce. In the music overhaul, the group will now be overseen by longtime executive Rachel Newman as well as TikTok music veteran Ole Obermann. The two will co-manage Apple Music under Schusser. The changes may alleviate the load for Schusser after he gained responsibility over other Apple services units in the past year or so, including the company's TV+ business and sports initiatives. He also oversees the Beats brand and its services in international markets. Schusser reports to Eddy Cue, the company's senior vice president of all online services. The Apple Music platform is the primary competitor to Spotify Technology SA and part of the company's push to generate more money from services. Apple reports earnings results Thursday, and its services division is expected to once again be a growth driver – especially as sales of hardware slows. – Bloomberg
