Reading the room

Wherever it chooses to make that money back, I think it will look to where its core values around privacy, security, and intentionality in AI make the most difference. The company’s seemingly deliberate approach to introducing new features meets the public mood of a population that is becoming increasingly mistrustful of tech firms.

That means the solutions it has introduced so far provide value to most users while also protecting their privacy. Those services are almost certainly the thin end of a multi-billion dollar AI wedge, and Apple, more than most, understands the need to provide solutions that don’t scare customers. (Apple Pay on iPhone was also one of these, back in the day. Now it is the most dominant mobile payment system because Apple introduced it gently.)

This calm, measured intentionality will become increasingly visible over the coming two to three years as Apple puts the pieces in place to deliver fee-based Apple Intelligence services.