‘Apple’s Biggest Threat Is Not Google…’: Former Apple Chief Has This Warning For CEO Tim Cook | Tech News

Sculley is big critic of his former company and has never minced his words

Apple is lagging behind in the AI race with Google and OpenAI showing the virtues of their investment to build powerful AI models. The company is still trying to find its feet in this arena and one of known Apple executives says the brand has to find its way back and show the world that it is not done. 

John Sculley is not a new name in the Apple circuit, especially known for his issues with then Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who got Sculley to the brand and then was ousted by his CEO choice.

Sculley was talking at an event recently, where he mentioned that not Google or Meta is the biggest threat to Apple, that laurel goes to OpenAI, which he claims is Apple’s “first real competitor” in decades. 

Time To Move From Apps In The AI Era 

Sculley also mentioned that Apple did not succeed in artificial intelligence and that’s where OpenAI is leading the ranks, closely followed by Google. He even pointed out that tech companies need to look beyond apps in this era and focus on AI agents in the new AI era.

Sculley has been vocal about his former company, and this latest statement tells you what everyone is thinking. Apple is nowhere in the AI race, and he feels the company, when Tim Cook leaves, will need a new CEO who can frontier the AI era hands-on. He even mentioned that Apple will have to invest in the Agentic AI era, and move away from apps for the future of its business growth. 

Apple seems to be investing in AI but it does feel a year or two late with its planning. All that could be attributed to the internal apprehension about the tech, and it seems that lack of foresight is why Apple is now playing catch up with one of its biggest rivals, as per Sculley. 

Siri AI launch has been delayed multiple times, and is now expected to be released with one of the iOS 26 updates next year. The smart home segment also needs AI to make its mark, where you have Gemini for Home and Alexa+ in the mix. Tim Cook has a tough challenge on his hands but one that could define the future roadmap and success of this tech giant.