Latest news with #RobbyWalker
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prediction: Apple Will Soar Over the Next 5 Years. Here's 1 Reason Why.
There's no denying it. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was not only late to the artificial intelligence party, but it has struggled to catch up. While the world was admittedly interested in Apple Intelligence's features unveiled in June of last year, demand for this tech -- as well as hardware that can handle it -- has been ho-hum. In fact, iPhone revenue fell during the quarter ending in December, while technology market research outfit IDC reports that unit sales of the iPhone slumped 4.1% year over year for the quarter in question. The company's AI-powered virtual assistant Siri has since been transferred to a new chief as well, after senior director Robby Walker called Apple's artificial intelligence results so far "ugly and embarrassing." And yes, Apple shares have underperformed this year largely because of its disappointing artificial intelligence efforts. Then again, perhaps the market was always expecting too much too soon. As UBS analyst David Vogt recently penned, investors shouldn't "expect a significant improvement to Apple Intelligence over the next 12 months even with the upcoming [iPhone] 17 series in the fall of 2025," echoing timeline concerns voiced by Jefferies analyst Edison Lee and Wedbush's Dan Ives. All three analysts, however, see AI-driven growth for Apple on the horizon once the company makes Apple Intelligence more marketable. In this vein, investment research house Imarc predicts the intelligent virtual assistant market is set to grow at an annualized pace of 26% through 2033. The market's likely to see this growth coming sooner rather than later, however, and simply sensing what awaits could be enough to (re)light a fire under this stock. Analysts see it coming anyway. The analyst community's current 12-month consensus price target for Apple stands at $253.71 per share, up 15% from the stock's present price. Most of these analysts also rate Apple stock as at least a buy at this time. The only missing ingredient is a catalyst convincing investors that Apple's AI efforts are back on track. The only problem? Once such a catalyst materializes, it may then be too late to step into a stake. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $295,009!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $42,000!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $523,463!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of March 24, 2025 James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Jefferies Financial Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: Apple Will Soar Over the Next 5 Years. Here's 1 Reason Why. was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
Apple's AI plans for Siri hit major roadblocks behind the scenes
Apple's plans for an AI overhaul of its Siri voice assistant have not gone as smoothly as the brand originally hoped. Those developing on the project are still trying to work out the flaws in the technology, but don't seem confident about a prompt release. The company aims to seamlessly integrate Siri with its Apple Intelligence AI tool, but this task appears to be easier in concept than execution. A new report from Bloomberg detailed that the brand previously hoped to have the feature released in a much shorter timeline, but now its plans may align with claims of a long delay. The publication indicated that the Siri team recently had an all-hands meeting where Apple senior director Robby Walker, discussed the state of the project, calling the delay an 'ugly' situation. He told the team there's no guarantee the Siri features will be ready for iOS 19 this year, but 'doesn't mean that we're shipping then,' he said. Currently, Apple is aiming to release the feature in June to coincide with its mobile software. The Verge noted that Apple first planned to launch the AI-inundated Siri last June to compete with the brand's contemporaries in the market. Last week, a brand spokesperson confirmed to Daring Fireball a second delay of the feature, which was rumored to launch in April with iOS 18.4. Reports before that noted that the project, known internally as 'LLM Siri,' could be delayed potentially for several iOS generations, up until 2027. It also appears Apple may be prioritizing other developments over the Siri project at this time. The company notably has several upcoming hardware launches, in addition to the aforementioned iOS 19 rollout, among other software releases. Reports also indicate the brand plans to do an overhaul update across all its platforms to make them more uniformly functional and practical. Apple is expected to showcase the updates at the World Wide Developers Conference in June. If true, the Siri project could be held back even further. 'We have other commitments across Apple to other projects. We want to keep our commitments to those, and we understand those are now potentially more timeline-urgent than the features that have been deferred,' Walker said, per the Bloomberg report. While there has been only one official statement from Apple, there has reportedly been a lot of buzz among the company's senior executives behind the scenes. Walker told the Siri team that software chief Craig Federighi, and AI head John Giannandrea, among others, are taking 'intense personal accountability' for the advanced features of Siri 'taking longer than expected.' In a prior Bloomberg report, Federighi supposedly discussed having concerns over features malfunctioning during internal tests. However, Walker assured his team that their progress on the project was impressive and that Siri's AI features would launch as soon as they were ready. 'Customers are not expecting only these new features, but they also want a more fully rounded-out Siri. These are not quite ready to go to the general public, even though our competitors might have launched them in this state or worse,' he said.
Bloomberg
14-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Apple's Siri Chief Calls AI Delays Ugly and Embarrassing, Promises Fixes
Apple Inc.'s top executive overseeing its Siri virtual assistant told staff that delays to key features have been ugly and embarrassing, and a decision to publicly promote the technology before it was ready made matters worse. Robby Walker, who serves as a senior director at Apple, delivered the stark comments during an all-hands meeting for the Siri division, saying that the team was facing a bad period. Walker also said that it's unclear when the enhancements will actually launch, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the gathering was private.
