{"slug": "apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right", "title": "Apple could ‘run the table’ on AI if it does things right", "summary": "Apple could dominate AI deployment by combining on-device models, agentic Siri AI, Private Cloud Compute, and partnerships with Google and Alibaba, according to a Computerworld analysis. The company's M7 Ultra Macs may support up to 1.5TB RAM for running frontier models locally, and its platforms are positioned as leading contenders for private edge AI services, potentially pressuring OpenAI and Claude.", "body_md": "Looking ahead just a short time, Apple could hold a powerful position in AI where it most makes sense: deployment.\n\nNot only will the company offer up its own AI models for the kind of tasks millions use ChatGPT to do today, but it will provide more sophisticated on-device agentic models to help users get things done through Siri AI.\n\nApple also [offers limited capacity for more complex tasks](https://www.macobserver.com/news/apple-calls-its-new-assistant-siri-ai-at-wwdc-2026-gemini-partnership-now-official/) through [Private Cloud Compute](https://www.applemust.com/apple-commences-us-manufacturing-of-private-cloud-compute-servers/), and, in partnership with the likes of Google in the US and Alibaba in China, the company is giving users a trusted conduit through which to access even more sophisticated AI services.\n\nCritics can say it [took Apple a long time](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4168225/wwdc-2026-how-apple-can-take-a-great-leap-in-ai.html) to get to this point, but they also seem to think the company has finally got the mix right with its series 27 operating systems. Arriving late to a party [doesn’t mean you won’t shine once you get there](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4164979/apple-will-be-behind-on-ai-until-it-isnt.html).\n\nApple is also coming up the inside lane around frontier AI, with iterative OS and hardware enhancements that mean its devices become increasingly effective for [Edge AI use cases](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4016798/why-i-hope-apple-keeps-investing-in-on-device-ai.html), on device — no cloud service required.\n\nThe company appears to be digging down into those use cases. Mark Gurman at Bloomberg recently predicted that [future M7 Ultra Macs](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/apples-rumored-m7-ultra-targets-1-5tb-of-memory-and-blackwell-class-ai) will support as much as 1.5TB RAM, making these systems more than capable of running full weight frontier models in people’s offices, colleges, and homes.\n\nWhile that does assume the [AI-flationary memory market](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4187825/the-trillion-dollar-ai-hallucination.html) can supply that much RAM at prices humans can afford, it is also true that people are already [running AI clusters](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4092162/apples-macos-ai-for-the-rest-of-us.html) using off-the-shelf Mac minis networked over Thunderbolt cables. It’s no stretch to believe [this will continue to be the case](https://www.applemust.com/macweb-now-offers-mac-mini-cloud-clusters-in-east-coast-data-centre/), and that it will even broaden as the power/performance offered at the high end grows.\n\nWhen combined with open AI stacks, particularly newly emerging varieties, Apple’s platforms should become leading contenders for [private AI services](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4074648/apples-big-bang-ai-moment-is-approaching.html) and edge AI. Many business users will leap at the chance to offer their workers powerful, self-hosted, private AI services using one or more daisy-chained Mac Studios or Mac minis. The recent craze in deployment of both Macs to support [OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai/) instances shows they already are.\n\nUltimately, these different slices of momentum mean I agree with [investor Jason Calacanis](https://podcastalpha.substack.com/p/all-in-can-ai-regulate-itself-stripe) that Apple is in position to apply a great deal of pressure on OpenAI and Claude just by putting models on their devices.\n\nIt’s also worth thinking about how people use AI today. How many of the queries made in the world right now constitute relatively simple tasks that could be transacted by on-device AI, such as the emerging new version of Apple Intelligence or even smaller LLM models running on device? You can even run [PrismML’s 1-bit, 27-billion parameter Bonsai](https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/14/prismml-releases-bonsai-27b-claiming-first-major-ai-model-of-its-size-fit-for-iphone/) on an iPad using the Locally app, and that’s in the here and now.\n\nWhat happens? Pretty soon you’ll find people recognize that they can already run the vast majority of their AI-augmented workflows using services they [have on their existing device](https://www.applemust.com/morgan-stanley-its-when-not-if-apple-will-deliver-ai-on-the-edge/) or can access on their on-prem Mac set-ups. And, of course, as people get used to running small tasks locally and larger tasks on premises, the actual space in which they need to turn to cloud-based frontier models [will erode](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4195657/apple-is-prepping-for-life-after-the-ai-gold-rush.html). That’s even as companies like PrismML work towards slimming down full-weight models so they don’t need to run on a server at all.\n\n“It’s going to be wild when people have unlimited tokens on their desks,” said Calacanis in a podcast round table discussion.\n\nThe current incarnations of AI felt like they came from nowhere. Most people weren’t aware of the technology until returning to work after the 2022 holiday season. Since then, the industry has proliferated with dozens of competing models, most recently including powerful but affordable frontier models such as Qwen and Kimi.ai.\n\nThese models aren’t necessarily all as good as one another, but in many cases for much of what we do, we’ll find them to be good enough. That’s an existential crisis for some, as industry observers now think the inevitable pricing pressure means some services might have over-invested in capacity before finding any way to turn a profit.\n\nThose profit-seeking services are the ones with the most to lose as Apple extends its hardware advantage, democratizing AI access for all while providing platforms suitable for edge AI, on-premises AI, private AI, and even AI access using third-party services. (The need for the latter will shrink as the capabilities of the former get better.)\n\nWhat does this all mean? While the industry remains young, it is already fragmenting. And striding through the dust of that process comes Apple, equipped with the hardware, software, and approach to build its business even as the enterprise of first mover AI services erodes.\n\n*You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky, LinkedIn, Mastodon and subscribe to my daily Apple-related news summaries at The Core.*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right", "canonical_source": "https://www.computerworld.com/article/4198808/apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right.html", "published_at": "2026-07-20 13:20:38+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-20 14:02:57.294039+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-agents", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["Apple", "Siri", "Google", "Alibaba", "OpenAI", "Claude", "Bloomberg", "Mark Gurman"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-could-run-the-table-on-ai-if-it-does-things-right.jsonld"}}