For decades, Apple has stood unchallenged at the pinnacle of the tech world. Apple has been popular for its sleek hardware, intuitive design, and pioneering products like the iPhone and iPad, the company’s influence has shaped the digital landscape.
But John Sculley, Ex CEO of Apple, has a warning for his former employer, OpenAI is the first real threat Apple has faced in many years.
Speaking at the Zeta Live 2025 conference, Sculley pointed to a shift in the industry that could leave Apple in the dust. The culprit? Artificial intelligence.
While companies like Google, Samsung, and the upstart OpenAI have rapidly embraced AI, Apple has lagged in the race to integrate next-generation technology into its ecosystem.
For Sculley, this is not just a missed opportunity but it is a ‘critical vulnerability,’ one that could see Apple’s decades-long reign as the king of consumer tech come to an end.
But it is not just AI that has Sculley concerned. OpenAI’s recent moves, including its acquisition of Jony Ive’s design firm, show the company is not just building software, it is planning to revolutionise hardware too.
And with Ive’s eye for design, the combination of powerful AI and sleek devices could be the perfect storm to challenge Apple’s hardware-first approach.
What exactly is Sculley’s warning to Apple?
One of Sculley’s key concerns is Apple’s slow adoption of AI technology, which he believes has put the company at a distinct disadvantage. Apple has traditionally excelled at hardware, with iconic products like the iPhone, iPad, and iMac defining its brand.
However, in the current era, Sculley argues, AI has become a crucial differentiator in the tech world, and Apple’s reluctance to fully embrace AI puts it behind competitors that are moving aggressively in this space.
Sculley also predicted that the rise of AI would push the industry toward subscription-based business models, a trend that Apple may struggle to adapt to. While Apple has made billions from its hardware and software sales, the proliferation of AI-powered services like ChatGPT will likely shift the market toward continuous, subscription-based models.
“When you think of subscriptions, it’s about people paying for something as long as they need it,” Sculley said, adding that the future of technology is not just about selling one-time products but offering services that users subscribe to over time.
In addition to the AI challenge, Sculley also pointed to OpenAI’s recent acquisition of Jony Ive’s hardware startup as a major strategic move that positions the AI firm as a legitimate threat to Apple’s hardware legacy. Ive, the legendary designer behind Apple’s most iconic products, including the iPhone, iPad, iMac, and iPod, is now working with OpenAI to create a new generation of AI-powered hardware devices. Sculley expressed admiration for Ive’s ability to combine cutting-edge design with technological innovation, noting that if anyone could bring a new dimension to OpenAI’s hardware efforts, it would be Ive.
By tapping into Ive’s expertise, OpenAI is positioning itself to create AI-driven hardware that challenges Apple’s core strengths. This collaboration between OpenAI and Ive could be the catalyst for a new wave of products that combine hardware excellence with advanced artificial intelligence, directly competing with Apple’s hardware-centric approach
