Apple News
After lagging in AI, 2026 will be critical for Apple’s Siri
As 2025 draws to a close, Apple finds itself under mounting pressure to prove its mettle in the generative AI race, having effectively sidelined major advancements this year amid development challenges and a deliberate focus on quality over speed. The company’s highly anticipated overhaul of Siri — a more personal, context-aware assistant capable of complex tasks and deep app integration—remains delayed until 2026, leaving investors and users questioning its strategy while competitors like Google, OpenAI, and Meta surge ahead with bold AI innovations. With recent leadership shake-ups and mixed reception to existing Apple Intelligence features, 2026 emerges as a make-or-break year for the company to finally deliver on its AI promises and reclaim momentum.
Apple doesn’t usually tell the public its product roadmap, but in Siri’s case, the iPhone maker made an exception. The company was supposed to launch the new AI assistant in 2025. But in March, Apple delayed the upgrade, even after running ads for the feature, to sometime in “the coming year.”
As consumers become increasingly accustomed to holding free-flowing conversations with the likes of ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini chatbots, the pressure is on Apple to keep up.
CEO Tim Cook told investors in October that Apple has been making good progress on Siri, and that’s “raised the bar meaningfully about what to expect,” said Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster.
“They basically said that this year, don’t bother us about AI, and we’ll blow you away by what we show next year,” Munster said…
In early December, Apple said John Giannandrea, the company’s machine learning and AI strategy chief, would retire in 2026. Many of his responsibilities will be split among COO Sabih Khan, services chief Eddy Cue and new hire Amar Subramanya, who previously worked at Google and Microsoft. Software chief Craig Federighi also gained expanded oversight over AI, with Subramanya reporting to him, Apple said.
The hiring of Subramanya, who was the head of engineering for Google Gemini before briefly joining Microsoft in an AI executive role, is particularly notable. The iPhone maker doesn’t tend to publicly discuss its engineering talent, especially new hires that don’t report directly to Cook.
The public announcement of a vice president hire like Subramanya shows how important it is for Apple to prove to investors and the public that it’s willing to shake up its AI leadership…
“Investors have already gotten enough gray hairs waiting for Apple to come out with their AI strategy,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “It’s time to come out and show the world what the strategy is.”
MacDailyNews Take: We are hearing the LLM Siri will be worth the wait!
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Apple leads Morgan Stanley’s top IT hardware picks for 2026
As 2026 approaches, Morgan Stanley anticipates a more challenging landscape for the IT hardware sector, characterized by narrowing leadership, elevated valuations, macroeconomic inconsistencies, and rising memory costs. In this environment, strategic stock selection becomes paramount, with the firm highlighting five standout overweight recommendations. Leading the pack is Apple, poised to benefit from a robust product cycle, alongside Western Digital — named as the top pick overall — Seagate Technology, TD Synnex, and Teradata. These selections reflect opportunities amid headwinds, as detailed in Morgan Stanley’s latest sector outlook.
Sam Boughedda for Investing.com:
Analyst Erik Woodring told investors in a note that “elevated valuations, a still-inconsistent macro, and memory cost inflation are likely to narrow Hardware outperformance breadth in 2026,” with stock selection becoming increasingly important.
Apple stands out as a key “product-cycle beneficiary,” Woodring said.
While the firm cut its FY27 product gross margin assumptions “160bps due to memory headwinds,” it added that “iPhone units/pricing more than offset,” with FY27 EPS now “8% above Street” expectations.
Western Digital remains Morgan Stanley’s top pick heading into 2026, with the firm citing pricing strength and margin upside.
MacDailyNews Note: Morgan Stanley also raised its target price on Apple shares to $315 from $305.
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Trump admin warns EU over harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against U.S. companies
In a sharply worded statement posted on X, the Trump administration via its Office of the United States Trade Representative has accused the European Union and its member states of engaging in a prolonged pattern of discriminatory practices against American service providers, including harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and regulatory directives. Highlighting the substantial benefits U.S. companies provide to Europe — such as free services, enterprise solutions, millions of jobs, and over $100 billion in investments — the USTR contrasts this with the open access European firms like Spotify, SAP, and Accenture enjoy in the U.S. market, warning that continued restrictions could prompt retaliatory measures, including fees or limitations on foreign services.
Office of the United States Trade Representative via X:
The European Union and certain EU Member States have persisted in a continuing course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against U.S. service providers. U.S. services companies provide substantial free services to EU citizens and reliable enterprise services to EU companies, and they support millions of jobs and more than $100 billion in direct investment in Europe. The United States has raised concerns with the EU for years on these matters without meaningful engagement or basic acknowledgement of U.S. concerns.
In stark contrast, EU service providers have been able to operate freely in the United States for decades, benefitting from access to our market and consumers on a level playing field. Some of the largest EU service providers that have hitherto enjoyed this expansive market access include, among others:
— Accenture
— Amadeus
— Capgemini
— DHL
— Mistral
— Publicis
— SAP
— Siemens
— Spotify
If the EU and EU Member States insist on continuing to restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of U.S. service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures. Should responsive measures be necessary, U.S. law permits the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other actions. The United States will take a similar approach to other countries that pursue an EU-style strategy in this area.
MacDailyNews Note: More info about the Office of the United States Trade Representative here.
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Apple explores chip assembly talks with Indian manufacturers
Apple is engaged in early-stage discussions with Indian semiconductor firms to handle the assembly and packaging of certain iPhone chips, ET reports citing sources familiar with the matter. This development represents a significant advancement in the supply chain for Apple’s Indian partners, potentially marking the company’s first move into local chip processing beyond device assembly.
Dia Rekhi for The Economic Times:
Exploratory conversations have taken place between Murugappa Group-owned CG Semi, which is building an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility in Sanand, Gujarat, said the people cited.
“The companies are in the very initial stages of discussion,” one of them said. “It is not clear what chips will be packaged out of the Sanand facility at this stage, but it will likely be display chips.”
The person added that this may be the “beginning of an uphill climb” for CG Semi since if talks progress, it will have to pass Apple’s stringent quality standards to clinch the deal. “Apple is already in talks with several companies for a number of other supply chain functions, and very few will end up on their supplier list,” the person said.
MacDailyNews Take: If finalized, such an agreement would represent a landmark victory for India’s rapidly expanding semiconductor sector, elevating local firms higher in Apple’s supply chain and accelerating the nation’s push toward advanced chip assembly and packaging capabilities amid global diversification efforts.
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Apple releases new Powerbeats Pro 2 firmware
Apple on Tuesday released new Powerbeats Pro 2 firmware, build version 8A359.
Apple hasn’t released official release notes for the latest Powerbeats Pro 2 firmware update. As is typical with these updates, it likely includes bug fixes, stability improvements, and performance optimizations.
Similar to AirPods, there’s no dedicated “Update” button in the settings. The update happens automatically when specific conditions are met:
- On your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, make sure Bluetooth is turned on.
- Make sure that your Beats are connected to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Fully charge your Beats (or make sure they’re connected to power).
- Do one of the following:
• Beats with a case: Place both earbuds in the case, then close the lid.
• Beats with a power or system button: Turn off your Beats device. - Keep your Beats in Bluetooth range of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, then wait at least 30 minutes for the firmware to update.
- Reconnect your Beats to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Check the firmware version.
MacDailyNews Note: If you still can’t update your firmware, reset your Beats, then try to update the firmware again.
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Apple Watch leads Q3 shipments with 23% market share
Global smartwatch shipments rose 9% YoY in Q3 2025. Apple led the shipments with 23% market share, followed by Huawei with 17%, according to Counterpoint Research.
Among the top 10 brands, Huawei led in YoY growth, followed by Apple. Apple recorded shipment growth after seven consecutive quarters of decline since Q4 2023, reclaiming the shipment leader position it lost to Huawei in Q2 2025.
Shipments grew across all regions in Q3 2025 except India. China posted the highest growth at 31% YoY, followed by Europe and North America with 16% and 15%, respectively. India saw a 23% YoY decline due to a continued drop in basic smartwatch shipments.
In North America, HLOS smartwatch shipments grew 14% YoY in Q3 2025. Market leader Apple’s shipments grew 26% YoY. Garmin witnessed growth with the introduction of new models, while Samsung’s shipments fell during the quarter.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple Watch reclaims its rightful throne!
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Code leak confirms Apple is building the M5 Max iMac Pro
Apple is reportedly working on a premium iMac equipped with the M5 Max chip, based on details uncovered in leaked internal software, MacRumors reports.. The evidence stems from Apple’s kernel debug kit files, which are tools used by engineers and contain references to upcoming hardware via internal codenames, platform identifiers, and mappings to chip names.
These leaks have been corroborated by secondary reports and screenshots shared within China’s tech circles in recent days, appearing on platforms like Weibo and BiliBili. While the files also mention other future Macs, the high-end iMac stands out as a potential revival of a pro-oriented all-in-one desktop.
Hartley Charlton for MacRumors:
The software contains references to an iMac with the identifier J833c running platform H17C. H17C is associated with the codename “Sotra C,” which relates to the expected marketing name “M5 Max.” This suggests that an iMac with the M5 Max chip is in active testing.
The software refers to a number of devices believed to be used exclusively for internal testing, such as iPad minis running tvOS and MacBooks with the A15 chip, so there is a chance that the M5 Max iMac is used for testing only. However, since the M5 Max chip is expected to be introduced next year and there have been rumors about Apple reintroducing a high-end “Pro” iMac for several years, it may well be destined for launch. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believed that Apple was still “working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market” following the launch of the Apple silicon iMac, a rumor supported by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
MacDailyNews Take: As we plan to move back to desktop Macs for the office and lightweight, long-lasting MacBooks for the road, the potential of an M5 Max iMac Pro is especially intriguing!
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iPhone 17e, coming soon, said to feature Apple’s C1X modem
According to reporting by The Information, Apple is making significant strides in its iPhone development pipeline, with a focus on in-house cellular modem technology and exploring bold new form factors like foldable screens and curved glass cases.
In the near term, Apple plans to introduce its custom-designed cellular modems starting with lower-end models. The Information reports that a new entry-level iPhone model, referred to as the “iPhone 17e” and expected to launch in spring 2026, will feature the C1X modem. This chip represents a natural progression over the earlier C1 modem used in the iPhone 16e. However, the iPhone 17e is anticipated to omit Apple’s N1 wireless chip, potentially resulting in the absence of Thread networking support despite incorporating an Apple-designed cellular baseband.
For premium devices, the roadmap points to further modem evolution. Internal indications suggest that the iPhone 18 Pro models, slated for a fall launch, will include the N1 chip. Apple is reportedly weighing options between the C1X and a next-generation C2 baseband for these Pro variants.
Beyond connectivity improvements, Apple’s longer-term vision includes transformative design changes. The Information details ongoing work on foldable screens, which could enable new device categories or hybrid iPhone designs. Additionally, the company is exploring curved glass cases that would give future iPhones a more fluid, wrapped aesthetic distinct from current flat-edged designs.
MacDailyNews Take: These developments underscore Apple’s push toward greater vertical integration and differentiation in hardware, aiming to reduce reliance on third-party components while introducing novel user experiences. Plans remain subject to change as Apple refines its internal projects.
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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