iPhone maker Apple did not make any major product announcements at its WWDC25 conference, held late on Monday night in South African time.
Instead, the smartphone maker, worth more than $3 trillion, issued news that largely focused on improvements to its artificial intelligence (AI) software, as the so-called “Magnificent Seven” ICT companies race each other to lead when it comes to this cutting-edge technology.
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla and Nvidia are the top tech companies chasing AI revenue and market share.
“Most of Apple’s AI-related announcements felt incremental, practical, yes, but far from groundbreaking,” said Badi Sudhakaran, co-founder and CPO of VALR.
Ofentse Dazela, Africa Analysis director of pricing research, said: “Apple’s developer-focused launch event did not include any major announcements, or region-specific initiatives targeted at the local developer community.”
The new “Apple Intelligence” features the company announced seek to elevate “the user experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro,” the company said.
Craig Federighi, Apple senior vice-president of software engineering, noted: “The models that power Apple Intelligence are becoming more capable and efficient, and we’re integrating features in even more places across each of our operating systems.”
Apple has come under the whip recently, with US president Donald Trump shunning CEO Tim Cook in public, while also insisting the smartphone company make all of its products, including components, in America.
The Trump-induced trade wars have caused companies to stockpile before imports into the US become at least 30% more expensive, unless Trump agrees on trade agreements with multiple countries, including China. This resulted in Apple having its best first quarter to date in terms of units shipped, IDC data shows.
Sales to other regions also did well, as its resellers “fear that supply chain disruption could lead to a shortage of stock and price increases,” said IDC. Yet, it continues to battle in China, where it is struggling to gain market traction.
Overnight, Apple showcased its new operating system (OS), iOS 26, which it said is “a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences and improvements to the apps users rely on every day”.
In a large shift, Apple is moving to a new naming convention for all OS releases, incorporating the year, such as iOS 26 for 2026.
Federighi said the new OS made “iPhone even more helpful”. He added that “with powerful new Apple Intelligence capabilities integrated across the system, users can get things done easier than ever”.
The latest IDC research shows Apple is the second-largest smartphone company in terms of market share, at 19.5%. It trails Samsung, which owns 20.1% of the market.
“From a South African perspective, the announcements carry little immediate relevance. Many of the AI features are likely to roll out here later, and none of the developer-focused updates appear tailored to emerging markets,” said Sudhakaran.
Dazela noted that in the local market, “Apple’s premium pricing structure continues to limit its market penetration compared to Android-based competitors”. Africa Analysis expects Apple’s market share to remain in the range of 10% to 15%, with minimal potential for near-term expansion.
“While the brand’s global appeal and ecosystem strength continue to attract a loyal user base, they are not sufficient to significantly shift market dynamics in its favour,” said Dazela.
In the second quarter to 29 March, Apple reported revenue up 5% year-on-year, while quarterly diluted earnings per share, a key metric for analysts, gained 8% over the same period.
Apple's new features include Live Translation for automatic text, FaceTime caption and phone call translations. Enhanced visual intelligence lets users search apps, add calendar events and interact with on-screen content.
The liquid glass screen creates 3D photo effects when moved, while new AI tools let users combine emojis with descriptions, generate personalised images through Genmoji and use intelligent shortcuts to summarise text and create images.
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