In the AI era, Apple’s strengths may become its constraints

Apple built its empire on control.

For decades, the company’s tightly managed ecosystem, spanning custom chips, proprietary operating systems and curated apps, delivered devices ​that were secure and easy to use.

That approach helped turn the iPhone into the most successful consumer product in history, generating nearly $210 billion in revenue last year. It also made Apple the world’s top-valued company for much of the past decade, a position only overtaken by artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia in 2024.