While testifying on Wednesday during Google’s antitrust trial, Apple executive Eddy Cue reflected on how seemingly invincible companies can suddenly lose relevance.
“People still are going to need toothpaste 20 years from now, 40 years from now. You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now. As crazy as that sounds,” Mr Cue, the senior vice president of services at Apple, told a lawyer representing Alphabet, owner of Google.
“You have to earn it. You have to develop. And so what we've seen always happen is the only way that you truly have real competition is when there's technology shifts.”
Mr Cue was responding to a question about what artificial intelligence is starting to do to search engine companies such as Google, and explaining how technology businesses often struggle to adjust.
He explained how he thought Apple had avoided complacency and had adjusted to huge technological shifts.
“One of the best things that Apple did in its history is we killed the iPod,” he said, with US District Judge Amit Mehta closely listening.
“We killed the iPod ourselves with the iPhone. Most companies have a very difficult time killing themselves when new technology comes along because you're afraid, why would you kill the golden goose, in a sense? And so, what I see generally is new technologies come about, new companies get formed, the incumbents have a hard time with it.”
Even the most casual tech and business observers would point out that Mr Cue’s testimony requires ample context.
Apple is sitting on an unprecedented cash reserve, and sales of its iPhones, computers and internet services show no sign of slowing.
Apple rarely makes its executives or employees available for interviews at such a lengthy and granular level.
Those attending Wednesday's court session got a glimpse of a top Apple executive lucidly discussing the daily grind inside one of the world’s most admired companies.
Mr Cue's testimony lasted more than an hour in a case claiming Google is a monopoly that should be broken up.
The trial has seen other tech executives, along with analysts, economists, and regulatory historians called to the witness box to provide insights to Judge Amit Mehta.
He ruled last year that Google had been illegally exploiting its dominance in the search sector to stifle competition and innovation, therefore harming consumers.
Among the DOJ's solutions is a proposal that would require Google to share search data with rivals to increase competition.
Google, however, has asserted that the DOJ's solutions unfairly penalise the company, and throughout the remedy trial has sought a significantly less consequential penalty.
“The plaintiff’s proposal is too broad,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said last week, questioning how productive it would be to share the company's search data.
“It would be trivial to reverse engineer and effectively build Google search from the outside.”
During the DOJ's trial, which began in 2023, Mr Cue was called to the stand, where he discussed a long-standing deal the company had to make Google the default search engine on its computers and iPhones.
During Wednesday's questioning, he painted a picture of a fast-moving tech landscape driven by AI developments that could render a strict remedy from the DOJ moot.
Mr Cue said Google's search engine makes Apple's products better, and seemed to warn against a harsh remedy that would, in turn, hurt Apple.
“We have to pick what's best for our customers and today, that is still Google,” he said.
Later Wednesday evening, as media reports began to pile up related to the future prosperity of Google in the wake of how AI was changing the nature of search, the company issued a press release.
"We continue to see overall query growth in Search," the statement from Google said.
"That includes an increase in total queries coming from Apple’s devices and platforms. More generally, as we enhance Search with new features, people are seeing that Google Search is more useful for more of their queries — and they’re accessing it for new things and in new ways, whether from browsers or the Google app, using their voice or Google Lens."
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tentative schedule of 2017/18 Ashes series
1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane
2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth
4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadeera%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERabih%20El%20Chaar%20and%20Reem%20Khattar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECleanTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHope%20Ventures%2C%20Rasameel%20Investments%20and%20support%20from%20accelerator%20programmes%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How%20champions%20are%20made
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EDiet%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7am%20-%20Protein%20shake%20with%20oats%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E10am%20-%205-6%20egg%20whites%0D%3Cbr%3E1pm%20-%20White%20rice%20or%20chapati%20(Indian%20bread)%20with%20chicken%0D%3Cbr%3E4pm%20-%20Dry%20fruits%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%20-%20Pre%20workout%20meal%20%E2%80%93%20grilled%20fish%20or%20chicken%20with%20veggies%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E8.30pm%20to%20midnight%20workout%0D%3Cbr%3E12.30am%20%E2%80%93%20Protein%20shake%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20intake%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204000-4500%20calories%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESaidu%E2%80%99s%20weight%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20110%20kg%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStats%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Biceps%2019%20inches.%20Forearms%2018%20inches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
