As Apple Inc. AAPL prepares to unveil its new iPhone 17 lineup at Tuesday’s “Awe Dropping” event, investor Peter Andersen is criticizing the company’s weak artificial intelligence strategy, calling Siri’s performance “awful” and its lack of innovation “quite an embarrassment.”
Apple Faces Criticism Ahead Of iPhone 17 Event
On CNBC’s Power Lunch, Andersen, founder and chief investment officer of Andersen Capital Management, said Apple is focusing too heavily on hardware while ignoring its shortcomings in AI.
Tuesday’s update “seems to me kind of a head fake and ignoring the elephant in the room,” Andersen said. “Siri’s results have been awful, and Apple intelligence development has really been lacking. So it’s quite an embarrassment, in terms of AI efforts, but they’re trying to re-shift that focus onto their hardware development.”
Apple shares dipped about 0.76% during Monday’s regular trading session and dipped another 0.0084% in after-hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
Meanwhile, investors await details of the new iPhone lineup, which will debut at the company’s Cupertino campus on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. PT.
See Also: Apple iPhone 17 Event: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 Air, Apple Watch 11, AirPods Pro 3 And More Expected On ‘Awe Dropping’ Day
Hardware Upgrades No Long-Term Fix
Andersen said Apple’s expected hardware reveals—including the new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, camera upgrades and new color options—may excite consumers in the short term but fail to address the company’s long-term growth challenges.
“They will attempt to focus the fact of new penetration and that the hardware offers new innovations,” he said. “But in the long run, I do really think they have to focus on the software development.”
Andersen argued that without meaningful AI breakthroughs, Apple risks losing ground to rivals such as Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL and Meta Platforms Inc. META, which have moved faster in integrating advanced AI tools.
Siri’s Struggles In Spotlight
The investor also pointed to Siri as one of Apple’s most significant shortcomings in AI, noting that the company’s advancements in this area have largely been incremental.
He said that critics can argue that, beyond minor upgrades—such as increasing the number of camera lenses—Apple has struggled to deliver meaningful innovation.
He added that one workaround is simply downloading OpenAI’s ChatGPT onto an iPhone, but that solution underscores Apple’s lag in native AI development.
“I don’t think that that’s a long-term solution,” Andersen said.
Analysts Split On Apple’s Future
Other analysts have also echoed concerns about Apple’s AI strategy.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives repeatedly called it a “disaster,” while Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster has argued that the bar for Apple’s AI growth remains low but could rise sharply in the next two years as Siri integrates Google’s Gemini model.
Despite the criticism, Jefferies has raised its Apple price target to $205.82, citing tariff relief and long-term AI potential, while HSBC and MoffettNathanson kept Hold and Neutral ratings.
However, Jefferies remains “unexcited” about the upcoming iPhone 17, even with positive U.S. consumer survey results, arguing that Apple stock appears “unattractive” at 30 times FY26 estimated earnings, given its projected 15% compound annual growth rate.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show that AAPL continues to demonstrate a strong upward trajectory across short, medium and long-term horizons. Further performance insights are available here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
