Former Apple CEO Warns: OpenAI is Apple’s First Real Competitor in Decades
Former Apple CEO John Sculley has declared OpenAI as Apple’s “first real threat in many decades,” highlighting the iPhone maker’s struggles in the AI race while competitors surge ahead.
Key Takeaways
- Apple faces its biggest competitive threat in decades from OpenAI
- Company currently relies on ChatGPT for complex Siri queries
- Former Apple design chief Jony Ive now working with OpenAI on AI hardware
- Sculley criticizes Apple’s AI capabilities as “not a particular strength”
Apple’s AI Lag and OpenAI Dependence
Apple has significantly fallen behind rivals like Samsung, Google, and OpenAI in artificial intelligence deployment. The tech giant currently depends on ChatGPT to handle complex user queries through its Siri voice assistant.
Reports suggest Apple may turn to Google to power future Siri updates, indicating the company’s ongoing struggle to develop competitive AI technology internally.
“AI has not been a particular strength for them,” Sculley stated during his appearance at the Zeta Live 2025 conference.
The Shift to Smart Agents
Sculley emphasized the industry’s transition from app-centric models to AI-driven smart agents. “In the agentic era, we don’t need a lot of apps; it can all be done with smart agents,” he explained.
He contrasted the traditional product sales approach with modern subscription models: “When we had apps at the center of everything, it was selling tools, selling products… When you think of subscription, it’s about people paying for something as long as they need it.”
Jony Ive’s OpenAI Partnership
In a significant development, Sculley revealed that former Apple design chief Jony Ive has joined forces with OpenAI to design next-generation AI hardware devices.
“He’s the one who actually designed and built the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad… If there’s anyone who is probably going to be able to bring that dimension to the LLM, in this case OpenAI, it’s probably going to be Jony Ive, working with Sam Altman,” Sculley noted.
Who is John Sculley?
John Sculley served as Apple CEO from 1983 to 1993 after being recruited by Steve Jobs. He became known for ousting Jobs from Apple in 1985 during a period of internal conflict.
Amid declining profits and strategic disagreements, Sculley was himself removed by Apple’s board in 1993 and replaced by COO Michael Spindler. Apple’s acquisition of Jobs’ NeXT company in 1997 eventually led to Jobs’ return to the company he co-founded.
Sculley co-founded marketing technology firm Zeta Global in 2007 and remained actively involved until his retirement in 2025.
