For decades, if you wanted to feel the future in your hand, you probably had an iPhone. Apple has accustomed us to a certain kind of magic: impeccable design, an ecosystem that just works, and the feeling of always being one step ahead. But what if I told you that this dominance, this throne that Apple sits on, could start to shake? Not because of a more powerful Samsung Galaxy, or a smarter Google Pixel. No, this time it's about something much deeper, something that could change the very definition of what a "phone" or a "mobile device" means. And the most interesting thing is that the warning comes not from just any analyst, but from a former Apple boss himself! It's a story about how Artificial Intelligence will not only improve phones, but could... replace them. Let's see what it's all about.
Imagine this: a guy who led Apple to its peak, none other than John Sculley, the one who succeeded Steve Jobs, comes and tells the world that Apple finally has a real competitor. And no, this isn't the classic battle with Samsung, a battle that Apple has kind of won in the hearts of consumers. Sculley is pointing his finger at... OpenAI. Yes, you read that right, the company that gave the world ChatGPT.
Why OpenAI? That's an excellent question, because they don't make phones. They're not releasing an "OpenAI Phone" with a camera and a touchscreen. But Sculley's vision goes much deeper. He says that generative AI, the kind of AI that understands what you want and acts on your behalf (what he calls agentic AI), is an “existential threat” to Apple’s model. Think about it: If an AI can manage your emails, organize your calendar, make restaurant reservations, and even edit your photos, all without you having to open a dozen separate apps, why would you need Apple’s app ecosystem?
It’s like moving from an “age of apps”—where we’re the ones who have to navigate menus and choose what to do—to an “age of agents,” where AI becomes our ultimate, almost invisible personal assistant. And here, Sculley admits, Apple has never been at its best. Siri may have been a pioneer, but it certainly hasn’t become the intelligent, autonomous agent we all dream of.
And now, the piece de resistance, the icing on the cake of this intrigue: Jony Ive. Does the name sound familiar? It should! He's the genius behind the design of almost everything that's come out of Apple in the last few decades: the iMac, the iPod, the iPad, and of course, the original iPhone. The man who shaped the aesthetics of our digital world.
Well, this Jony Ive no longer works for Apple. And guess who he's teamed up with? Right with OpenAI! Yes, the company that Sculley sees as Apple's biggest enemy. What are they doing together? Well, we don't know exactly yet, but rumors and statements suggest one thing: he's working on a new type of hardware device. Not just another phone, but something designed from the ground up to be AI-centric.
Think about it: If Jony Ive, the master of design who made the iPhone irresistible, joined forces with OpenAI, the leader in generative AI, the result could be an "iPhone killer" not in raw performance, but in the way it makes you interact with technology. Not necessarily a bigger screen or a better camera, but an interface so intuitive, so intelligent, that it completely changes your expectations. It could be a gadget that no longer forces you to adapt to it, but adapts to you, using AI to anticipate and solve your problems. Something that makes you ask, 'Why did I need a phone before?'
Until now, the iPhone was king, because it was the center of your digital universe. If you wanted pizza, you opened app X. If you wanted to edit a photo, you opened app Y. It was the Age of the App, and Apple ruled.
But the AI agent phase is different.
Think about it: what happens when you don’t need to choose the app yourself? When you simply say or think something, and the AI takes care of it?
Want a vacation? Instead of opening Booking, then Waze, then your bank’s app, you tell your AI agent: “Find me a relaxing weekend in Greece, under 800 euros, from June 10-20. You know I don’t like flying in the morning.”
Your AI agent (from OpenAI or someone else) doesn’t open apps. It acts for you. It books your flight, checks you in, automatically alerts you if traffic changes, and organizes your playlist for the trip. All of this, silently.
OpenAI, backed by the greatest designer of the last few decades, is not interested in making a "better iPhone." They want to make the iPhone irrelevant...that's the big deal.
OpenAI doesn't have the reputation for privacy that Apple does. Letting an autonomous agent manage your finances and personal life is a huge leap of faith...and i don't think we're all ready for something like that