Apple is doubling down on AI with more hires and bigger investments. CEO Tim Cook laid it out on the Q3 2025 earnings call: Apple is reallocating “a fair number of people” to AI and boosting its spending to catch up in the AI race.
Cook said on the call:
“We see AI as one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime. We are embedding it across our devices and platforms and across the company. We are also significantly growing our investments.”
“Apple has always been about taking the most advanced technologies and making them easy to use and accessible for everyone, and that’s at the heart of our AI strategy.”
“We have a great, great team and we’re putting all of our energy behind it.”
Apple’s AI spending is pushing CapEx higher for the year, but the company is sticking to a hybrid model—relying partly on third parties—so costs won’t spike dramatically.
The company has snapped up seven AI startups so far in 2025, mostly small deals, and Cook says acquisitions are happening roughly once every few weeks.
Apple has faced criticism for AI missteps and delays, including a not-ready Siri upgrade that was prematurely hyped. But Cook insists rushing out flawed features isn’t the way, even as Apple has already released over 20 AI-powered tools, covering visuals, cleanup, and writing.
Later this year, Apple plans AI features like live translation and an AI workout buddy, while personalized Siri upgrades are pushed to 2026. Cook says progress on Siri is “good.”
On the competition around AI hardware, including Meta’s push for AI glasses, Cook pushed back hard:
“It’s difficult to see a world where iPhone’s not living in it.”
“That doesn’t mean that we are not thinking about other things, as well, but I think that the [AI] devices are likely to be complementary devices, not substitutions.”
Apple declined to reveal which AI technologies it sees commoditized, saying that would risk leaking its strategy.
The Q3 earnings beat expectations with strong iPhone sales and record revenue, sending Apple’s stock higher in after-hours trading.
Apple continues to pivot aggressively into AI, buying up startups and reallocating teams, betting its tried-and-true approach will pay off amid growing pressure to deliver AI-powered products on time and at scale.
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