Apple going for privacy-focused approach over AI innovation: Experts

Apple’s announcements during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 were muted on the AI front, focusing more on user-friendly and ChatGPT-enabled features.

While the bulk of the software updates appeared incremental in nature, analysts told that the slowdown on AI is likely deliberate to focus on user privacy, in line with the “privacy-first” image preferred by Apple.

Apple debuted a ‘Liquid Glass’ interface design made of translucent materials for better user experience, new Apple Intelligence features like Live Translation and visual enhancements such as Image Playground and Genmoji with access to ChatGPT.

Apple also announced Chat GPT’s image-and document-understanding capabilities in Writing Tools and Siri.

Varun Mishra, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said Apple is taking a more foundational and privacy-focused approach to AI, rather than rushing “headline-grabbing features.”

While analysts praised these measures, investors appeared to be left unimpressed as Apple’s shares fell by 1.5 per cent following the event announcements.

The dip was reportedly due to Apple’s lack of innovation in the AI space where competitors like Google and Microsoft are doubling down.

However, Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO and chief analyst at the Greyhound Research, argued that Apple’s AI rollout was never designed to boost share prices overnight but to reinforce user trust over quarters.