Apple Finally Pushes Into AI

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published May 7, 6:25AM EDT

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Apple Finally Pushes Into AI — © nadla / iStock via Getty Images

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) is moving into artificial intelligence (AI). That is a business in which many think it was left behind by companies such as Alphabet and Microsoft. Apple appeared to be in enough AI-based trouble that it may have turned to Google and Microsoft for AI software for its devices. It appears Apple’s move into the sector will involve chips that run servers, not consumer-facing products.

According to several reports, Apple’s server chips will be released soon. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Over the past decade, Apple has emerged as a leading player designing chips for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Mac computers. The server project, which is internally code-named Project ACDC—for Apple Chips in Data Center—will bring this talent to bear for the company’s servers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Speculation remains about how Apple’s AI chips might be integrated into iPhones, iPads, and Macs. New Macs will be released soon. While they are one of the company’s oldest products, their sales are nowhere near as important to the company as those of the iPhone.

The release of the iPhone 16 may be among the most important product launches in Apple’s history, but iPhone sales are in trouble, based on the most recent earnings report. iPhone revenue dropped from $51.3 billion in the year-ago quarter to $46 billion in the most recently reported quarter. The iPhone 15 has been criticized for not being enough of an upgrade from the iPhone 14. A faster chip and slightly better camera may not excite people who could buy the iPhone 16.

Will Apple’s move into AI chips be enough to calm investors who want to see more AI-based features in the new iPhone? People will have to wait for its release in September.

Also see: A Once-in-a-Generation Investment: 1 AI Stock You Don’t Want to Miss Out On

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.