Descriptions:
Bloomberg Technology reports on a significant strategic shift from Apple: rather than competing directly in the AI model race, the company is embracing a chatbot-agnostic approach that integrates multiple AI platforms into its devices. Apple is building a dedicated App Store section for AI services, through which it plans to collect a 30% (or individually negotiated) revenue share on premium subscription upgrades — effectively monetizing its hardware platform and distribution reach rather than its own AI capabilities. The company is also reportedly rebuilding its underlying first-party models using technology from Google Gemini, and developing a refreshed Siri experience accessible directly from the device keyboard.
Meanwhile, Apple faces aggressive talent competition from OpenAI, which is actively building its own consumer hardware devices and has been poaching Apple engineers at a rate of several dozen per month over the past six months. OpenAI’s hardware engineering team is already led by former Apple executives. In response, Apple is offering one-time bonuses and four-year RSU packages specifically targeting the iPhone product design team within its hardware engineering group.
The report frames Apple’s moves as a pragmatic retreat from the AI frontier model race — doubling down on hardware as a distribution platform while other companies fight over model quality. The talent war with OpenAI, however, introduces a meaningful risk to Apple’s long-term hardware differentiation.
📺 Source: Bloomberg Technology · Published March 27, 2026
🏷️ Format: News Analysis
