Participants arrive at Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC (Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images)

Core Issues

Apple down on underwhelming developer conference

We didn’t hear much about Siri at all.

6/9/25 2:04PM

Apple’s stock is down 1.5% today — a drop that began when its annual developer conference, WWDC, began.

Right at the beginning, Apple SVP of Software Craig Federighi addressed the elephant in the room: Apple’s AI software, Apple Intelligence, missed the mark and fixes wouldn’t be immediately available.

“This work needed more time to reach our high quality bar, and we look forward to sharing more about it in the coming year,” Federighi said, before pivoting the programing to focus on what Apple does best: design.

But unifying visual experiences and version numbers, 3D home-screen photos, and web pages that float from edge to edge, while cool perhaps for developers, aren’t exactly the kind of stuff that makes normies excited.

At one point, Federighi seemed to be mocking in a self-aware way the company’s boring improvements to the iPad OS: “Wow. More windows, a pointier pointer, and a menu bar? Who would’ve thought! We’ve truly pulled off a mind-blowing release,” he said.

“This year’s event was not about disruptive innovation, but rather careful calibration, platform refinement, and developer enablement — positioning itself for future moves rather than unveiling game-changing technologies,” Francisco Jeronimo, VP for data and analytics at IDC, told Sherwood News.

Last year, Apple mentioned Apple Intelligence more than 60 times. Execs said it about half as many times this year, and when they did, there wasn’t much substance — like addressing when exactly Apple would deliver on the AI promises made at last year’s WWDC, including having an upgraded Siri respond to questions with information pulled from users’ emails and texts. Siri was mentioned just once. Apple also didn’t mention integration with Google’s AI Gemini, which many analysts had hoped could help improve its paltry AI offerings.

Instead, many of the AI features Apple execs described in the 1.5-hour event were things already announced or that already exist on other platforms, like live translation or the ability to search from images or the phone’s camera. And this time, there was no “one more thing.”

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It turns out Tesla’s Cybercab might need to have a steering wheel and pedals after all

Tesla’s Cybercab was supposed to be a steering-wheel-less alternative to its affordable mass market car.

Matt Phillips10/28/25

Intel romps amid reported attempt to poach a 21-year Taiwan Semiconductor veteran

A report in the Taiwanese press that Intel is attempting to recruit a recently retired top Taiwan Semiconductor executive, Wei-Jen Lo, to lead R&D at Intel’s troubled foundry division may account for the bump in Intel shares Tuesday, one analyst told us.

A synopsis of the report from technology analysis and news outlet TrendForce News notes:

“If confirmed, the move could have significant implications for TSMC and the broader Taiwanese semiconductor industry, especially as Intel aggressively expands its foundry business with support from Washington and backing from tech giants like NVIDIA and SoftBank, the report adds.”

But some skepticism about Lo, 75 years old, returning to Intel, where he worked before joining TSMC in 2004, is also warranted, TrendForce says:

“Industry insiders cited by the report say it is unlikely he would join Intel again, given TSMC’s non-compete rules, Intel’s status as a direct competitor, Lo’s advanced age, health considerations, and his long-standing loyalty to TSMC founder Morris Chang. On the other hand, some industry observers warn that Lo, a U.S. citizen, would be difficult for TSMC to restrict, even with non-compete clauses.”

Intel shares have doubled over the last three months, since the US government took a 10% stake in the company in August. Intel is the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 over that period.

Intel Reportedly Eyes Retired TSMC Veteran Wei-Jen Lo, Advanced Node Pioneer, to Lead R&D

“If confirmed, the move could have significant implications for TSMC and the broader Taiwanese semiconductor industry, especially as Intel aggressively expands its foundry business with support from Washington and backing from tech giants like NVIDIA and SoftBank, the report adds.”

But some skepticism about Lo, 75 years old, returning to Intel, where he worked before joining TSMC in 2004, is also warranted, TrendForce says:

“Industry insiders cited by the report say it is unlikely he would join Intel again, given TSMC’s non-compete rules, Intel’s status as a direct competitor, Lo’s advanced age, health considerations, and his long-standing loyalty to TSMC founder Morris Chang. On the other hand, some industry observers warn that Lo, a U.S. citizen, would be difficult for TSMC to restrict, even with non-compete clauses.”

Intel shares have doubled over the last three months, since the US government took a 10% stake in the company in August. Intel is the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 over that period.

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Eye on AI

10/28/25

All eyes on Google Search revenue

It’s hard to tell what’s happening with Search.