Apple's leadership is privately questioning whether the company can compete in the AI era, even as it prepares to launch M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros alongside macOS 26.3, according to sources familiar with internal discussions.
The self-assessment is notable timing. Apple just posted a record holiday quarter, but executives are asking harder questions about their AI positioning while competitors ship faster. Store inventory for current MacBook Pros is tightening ahead of the refresh, suggesting launch is imminent.
The foldable pivot
Apple is exploring a clamshell-style foldable iPhone as a potential second foldable device, following its first fold expected later. The move would put Apple in direct competition with Samsung's Z Flip series - a market segment the company has publicly dismissed for years.
This is Apple's pattern: skepticism, then entry once they believe they can execute better. The question is whether "better" still means "late" in AI-driven hardware cycles.
What's actually shipping
More concrete: CarPlay Ultra may expand to Hyundai or Kia this year. Apple is also testing new bundle structures and paid upgrade paths for services, continuing the shift toward recurring revenue that now props up hardware margin pressure.
The M5 Pro and M5 Max chips will be the interesting test. Apple's silicon advantage bought them years of performance leadership. Whether that advantage translates to AI workloads - and whether customers care about on-device AI performance yet - remains to be seen.
The trade-off
Apple's AI uncertainty reflects a real strategic tension: move fast and ship imperfect AI features (the Microsoft/Google approach), or wait until it's "Apple quality" and risk irrelevance (the Apple fear). The record quarter suggests the wait-and-polish strategy still works. The internal questioning suggests they're not sure it will keep working.
We'll see which Apple shows up in the M5 MacBook Pros - the confident market leader or the company trying to catch up.