RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesGo to the 9to5Mac home page Switch site 9to5Toys 9to5Google Logo 9to5Google Electrek Drone DJ Logo DroneDJ Space Explored About Privacy Toggle social menu Toggle dark mode Search for: Submit Toggle search form Forums Store Podcasts Apple@Work Happy Hour 9to5Mac Daily Overtime iPhone iPhone Mac Mac MacBook Pro MacBook Air iMac Mac mini Mac Studio Mac Pro iPad iPad Pro iPad Air iPad mini iPad iPadOS Watch Apple Watch Apple Watch Ultra Apple Health Apple Watch SE Vision Vision Pro visionOS Music and TV Apple Music AirPods HomePod Apple TV Guides Reviews How Tos AAPL Apple Store Apple Arcade Apple Card Apple Silicon Apple One Apple Fitness+ CarPlay Siri HomeKit Toggle dark mode iPhone AI ChatGPT OpenAI AI awaiting its iPhone moment, says Altman; needs to learn key Apple lesson Ben Lovejoy | Aug 25 2026 - 5:18 am PT 0 Comments OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says that AI is still awaiting its iPhone moment, and that he needs to learn a key lesson from Apple .
He also admits that he was overly ambitious in his idea of how quickly AI would disrupt the economy, but thinks that, paradoxically, the tech will create new opportunities for businesses that don't use it …
Altman made the comments in a David Senra podcast episode reported by TNW . He likened the current AI era to the smartphone days prior to the launch of the iPhone. Many of us in the tech world owned Windows CE, Nokia, and PalmOS devices from the mid-1990s, but it was the iPhone that transformed smartphones from nerdy pocket computers to mass-market devices.
Altman compared the current phase to smartphones before Apple arrived. He had a Palm Treo around 2003 […] “We have all of the technological pieces, but we have not had the iPhone moment of completely changing how someone interfaces with technology.”
He says that AI companies, including his own, haven't yet found the magic formula to really bring the tech into everyday consumer life.
Steve Jobs famously said that one of the key reasons Apple was successful was that the company didn't try to do too much, saying "no" to a thousand good ideas in order to fully focus on the very few products where the company said "yes."
Altman referenced this, saying he was bad at killing good ideas in order to protect the great ones.
He believes one of the key changes we are going to see is "the greatest boom in people starting smaller businesses that we have ever seen."
In part, this will be because of the things AI makes possible, but he also predicts a less obvious outcome. He says some businesses will succeed "precisely because they have nothing to do with AI; people will want authentic, non-technological experiences."
The episode sounds well worth listening to, and I have it in my queue.
Photo by Mathieu Improvisato on Unsplash
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Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He's known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!
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