Facing the pressure of the AI race, tech giant Apple may take a different path by launching an AI store.
On Monday, Ben Reitzes, the head of technology research at Wall Street consulting firm Melius Research, stated in an interview that Apple might introduce a new AI application store at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, guiding consumers to acquire AI applications from a range of vendors.
Reitzes believes that given Apple's history of persuading many industry leaders to develop applications for or collaborate with it while perfecting its own ecosystem, it is also possible for Apple to adopt this approach in the AI field.
Like many other tech giants, Apple is striving to incorporate AI elements into its products, such as operating systems and software, but its movements are slower than competitors. Apple is often seen as a laggard in the AI race; hence, it might strengthen its connection with AI through other plans.
Reitzes thinks that similar to Apple's app store, Apple will start discussions with other companies to integrate their AI applications while offering its own AI services and selling them as part of the AI application store.
Melius Research released a research report on the 26th stating: Apple will likely offer their own AI apps, perhaps through an upgraded Siri and its own assistant that can be integrated into non-Apple Apps too.
Reitzes predicts that Apple will also detail how to purchase AI applications from its app store at WWDC and offer its own applications, an AI assistant, and an upgrade to the voice assistant Siri. He also expects that signs of AI entering Apple's services will be observable following the conference. WWDC has not set a specific date yet, but it is expected to take place in early June this year.
The concept of an Apple AI application store has been similarly proposed by other analysts. For example, in February of this year, investment bank Wedbush wrote that Apple will advance AI technology and ultimately create a standalone AI application store.
Wedbush also expects that Apple will internally discuss this concept at WWDC, although it is unknown if these discussions will involve developers.
Additionally, there are media reports claiming that Apple has begun discussions with companies including Baidu on how to handle generative AI services in China, and Baidu will provide AI functions for Apple's iPhone 16, Mac system, and iOS 18 to be released this year.
This would be a considerable boost for Baidu, especially amid the increasingly fierce competition among Chinese Large Language Model (LLM) manufacturers. After the report was released, the next day, Baidu's shares rose over 4% after the market opened.