Is Apple still an AI early-adopter or a fast-follower? As an industry analyst who follows Apple, AI and wireless, allow me share my opinion on where I think they are heading.

Listening to CEO Tim Cook, I believe Apple AAPL may be starting to give investors and the market what they want. He gave some clarity about their future AI growth strategy. He said they are open to M&A to accelerate their move further into artificial intelligence. So, let us explore what this means, exactly.

Artificial intelligence is like other major change agents, except it is larger, deeper and faster. Every word from every CEO must be measured and calculated. Discussing this is important because the investment community, customers, the media and industry analysts have been wondering how Apple would keep up with other strong and fast AI competitors like Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon, Lenovo and many others.

The question is, can and will Apple be as hotly competitive in AI, or not so much?

Why Apple AI strategy is mixed

The way Apple is addressing this issue is mixed. On one hand, addressing this issue is good. However, in my opinion there is no real there, there. Not yet anyway.

I believe this comment is a signal that Apple has AI on its mind. However, until they have something specific to announce, like a new technology or acquisition, that’s pretty much it.

Every leading company must measure their next moves carefully. Remember when Mark Zuckerberg from Meta thought the metaverse was the next big thing? He believed so much he changed the name of the company from Facebook to Meta. Today, they seem to be focused more on AI.

My point here is there are no guarantees of success for any company. Even Apple. Apple does not like to go out too far ahead of their headlights

This is how companies work. They throw stuff against the wall and wait and see what sticks. That is what they build on. Sometimes they are on target. Other times, not so much.

I believe Apple knows that and is being careful about not going too far out ahead of its own headlights. They want to continue to be a winner.

Today, Apple is an industry powerhouse. That being said, they are no longer an early-adopter. They are not first-to-market. Today they have become a fast-follower. There is nothing wrong with that, but we must understand the current playing field.

Apple has a loyal customer base. They prefer this to being on the cutting edge, which can be messy. What this says to me is they know the marketplace is expecting something having to do with AI from Apple.

While they are a still strong company, in my opinion they have not really led the wireless marketplace with innovation like AI in quite a long while.

Is Apple still an innovative competitor?

Sure, Apple was a leader with the iPhone, which is almost 20 years old. Then, in 2011 they introduced Siri, which is an early type of AI using voice. However, companies like Google, Samsung and Motorola with their Android devices have quickly followed Apple and today lead the way forward. Apple has had to play catch-up, time and time again.

I recall writing columns years ago about how this was going to lead to lost market share. I was wrong. They continue to be as strong as ever. They found equilibrium with their customer base. While that has worked for them in the past, I believe AI represents a new and different marketplace challenge

What I am saying is if Android and other smartphone makers really jump into this new world, and it looks like they are, could they leave Apple behind in the dust?

I ask this because we really don’t know what will happen next. Companies are either growing, declining or stuck. It has happened before. Past leaders like Blackberry led, then collapsed when iPhone and Android were introduced.

So, what will Apple look like going forward in the new world of artificial intelligence?

Apple does not act like a traditional company

I believe they will continue to be a leader. However, they need to push the limit and jump into the AI war today. Either through acquisition or new services.

Fortunately, Apple does not act like or react like a traditional company. Example, as other smartphone and computer makers move to touch screens, and as Apple has not, the thought was it would negatively impact the company. It has not.

As an industry analyst I do believe AI plays a key role in the transformation of every technology company in every industry. I agree that pressure from investor and customer expectations will play a role in the transformation of Apple with AI.

Will Apple turn up the AI heat and lead going forward? It will be interesting to watch what happens next. What AI technologies will Apple develop and release. What companies they will acquire.

So, the bottom-line question is will Apple lead with AI, or just keep up with it? What comes next with AI for them is key. No company remains on the rapidly growing side of the growth curve forever.

We will just have to wait and see what moves they make. Any way you slice it, Apple is not an ordinary company, and they don’t follow conventional wisdom. So, can we really use common wisdom to know what to expect next with them?

More from Jeff Kagan: The good, and the bad, we hear about AI are all true