Apple faces Nokia crisis as Tim Cook accused of AI and F1 distractions

Apple Inc. is facing criticism from investors and analysts who argue that the company’s once-revered innovation engine is faltering under CEO Tim Cook. Shares of the tech giant are down nearly 20% in 2025, trailing behind competitors such as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. 

During its June 9 keynote at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple made relatively modest announcements. The company’s largest reveal was a refreshed design theme for its operating systems, dubbed “Liquid Glass.” 

Much to investors’ disappointment, the presentation lacked any hardware vision, and many fear the tech giant is treading a road that led to the fall of industry leaders like Nokia.

Tim Cook’s priorities questioned

Critics argue that Cook has been distracted from pushing Apple towards any new hardware updates to cater for entertainment projects. According to Yahoo Entertainment news, he has been promoting an upcoming documentary on Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton’s life. 

The film is being developed under the Apple banner and follows a previously announced Apple Original Film on Formula 1, which Hamilton also produces.

“Lewis is very inspiring for me,” Cook said in a recent interview. “He has an incredible life story. Fortunately, we’re also doing a documentary on Lewis. I can’t wait. Because I think it’s the ripple in the pond that will inspire millions of people.”

The film Hamilton could receive acclaim, but the iPhone maker’s clientele would like Cook to focus on products and address the tech firm’s slow progress in AI. 

Analysts say Apple’s most successful moments mostly came from reinventing consumer tech “form factors,” like the Mac and iPhone. Craig Moffett of equity research firm MoffettNathanson notes that artificial intelligence is much like the inventions that made the company what it is today. 

Competitors like Google and Meta are investing in AI-powered smart glasses, and Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Baidu are pushing similar innovations.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced a $6.4 billion partnership with LoveFrom, the firm led by former Apple designer Jony Ive, to build an AI-focused hardware device. Apple’s absence from such collaborations is as loud as Cook’s silence on what the company is working towards.

One of Apple’s AI shortcomings is its “differential privacy,” where it uses anonymized aggregate data rather than individual behavior. This has nerfed its ability to train personalized AI models. The company has also prioritized on-device AI, limiting the size and sophistication of its models, unlike competitors using cloud-based infrastructures. 

AI ambitions not moving forward

Apple has not yet made any major acquisitions in matters of AI. Firms like Amazon hold a significant stake in Anthropic, the developer of the Claude series of large language models. Analysts believe Apple’s reluctance to either build or buy a leading cloud-based AI developer leaves it with fewer options.

Recent reports claim the iPhone manufacturer is developing a foldable phone, a product that Samsung and Motorola have been dropping for years. 

Meanwhile, the company’s App Store is under threat from the European Union’s Digital Markets Act and a US antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games. Bank of America estimates that App Store commissions generate $31 billion annually in services revenue. Should new rules enable developers to bypass the App Store, Tim Cook’s most profitable business line could take a hit.

According to Patrick McGee’s newly released book Apple in China, the company’s dependency on Chinese manufacturing could pose significant geopolitical and operational risks.

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