Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about the company's artificial intelligence plans during an earnings call on Thursday. He said Apple has large opportunities in AI, even as the company's stock fell on worries about supply issues.
Cook explained that Apple uses a hybrid approach to AI. Some tasks run directly on iPhones and Macs instead of relying only on the cloud. He said this setup gives Apple an edge over other large tech companies.
A Different Approach to AI Spending
Apple has spent far less on AI infrastructure than other big tech companies this year. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have each promised to spend more than $100 billion on AI data centers in 2026.
Apple's spending for the quarter ending in June came to $2.46 billion. That number was lower than what analysts had expected.
Cook said Apple's day to day spending on AI is still rising, even without heavy data center costs. He said the company is growing its operating expenses as it invests more in AI overall.
How On-Device AI Could Help Businesses
Cook said running AI directly on Apple devices can save companies money. He explained that fewer requests need to travel to outside cloud servers, which cuts costs.
He pointed to Disney as an example. Cook said Disney's creative teams use Macs for AI work to lower cloud costs and keep their creative projects private.
Apple's approach will soon be tested in a bigger way. The company plans to release an updated version of its Siri assistant this fall.
The new Siri will rely on the iPhone's own processor to understand and answer simple requests. This keeps many tasks on the device instead of sending them elsewhere.
For harder tasks, like generating images, Apple's system will send requests out to Google Cloud. Those servers run on Nvidia chips and Intel processors.
Apple first explained this setup back in June when it revealed the new Siri software. At that time, the company said users might face limits on how much they can use its cloud based AI tools.
Apple said users could raise those limits by paying for more access. This would give Apple a new way to earn money from AI.
On Thursday, Cook said Apple does not yet have a full plan for how it will charge users for AI features. He said the company is still working out the details.
He added that Apple believes some customers will want to use AI often. Because of this, the company may offer upgrade options through iCloud+.
Cook will step down as CEO and take on the role of executive chairman starting September 1. His comments on AI strategy came during one of his final calls as chief executive.
