Investors have been reassessing technology stocks recently for a number of different reasons.
The market's software stock sell-off was driven by fears that software-as-a-service businesses could be disrupted by new artificial intelligence (AI) coding tools. Meanwhile, some AI stocks have been hit hard by worries that their capital expenditures to build out data center infrastructure have gone too far.
But Apple (AAPL 2.19%) faces a different AI risk: the risk of failing to get AI software right. In the past year, its share price gains have lagged far behind those of Alphabet (GOOG 1.47%)(GOOGL 1.45%), which offers Gemini AI models that are widely viewed as being among the best available.
The biggest threat to Apple's stock price performance from here might be a longtime nagging problem: Siri.
Siri upgrades delayed again
The company has been trying to improve its Siri virtual assistant with new AI capabilities for almost two years. But according to recent Bloomberg reporting, Apple is once again delaying some long-overdue upgrades to Siri. Some planned AI features might not debut until May or September -- more than two years after the company announced its plans to revamp Siri.
Image source: Getty Images.
If Apple can't successfully add the AI features that customers desire to the iPhone, but Google's Gemini cracks the code and offers a seamlessly helpful, interactive, voice-controlled personal assistant on Android devices, that could be enough to pull some of Apple's loyal customers away from its ecosystem.
AI is a big opportunity for smartphones
The biggest winners of the AI race might be smartphone device manufacturers who can deliver a widely used, popular generative AI experience. A recent survey from Deloitte found that 53% of consumers are using generative AI on an experimental or regular basis, and 65% of AI users access the technology through smartphone apps.
The AI-related risk to Apple seems small for now. In a CNET survey from September 2025, only 11% of U.S. smartphone owners said they would decide about upgrading devices based on AI features. But that share might grow, and so would the risk to Apple if other companies make big leaps in AI while its AI experience is perceived as lackluster.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
I wouldn't rate Apple stock as a sell based on concerns about Siri's AI features alone. According to a Bloomberg article published on Feb. 17, Apple is also developing new AI devices such as smart glasses, a pendant, and camera AirPods. If Siri's new AI capabilities work well with these new devices, the stock could soar. But this company is not completely safe from the AI race.
