Rivals like OpenAI are planning AI devices that could challenge the long dominance of smartphones, yet Apple’s ecosystem remains massive, with 2.5 billion active devices|Blake Patterson|CC BY 2.0

Apple turns 50 today, a significant milestone for a company that has helped shape tech and culture by mainstreaming PCs and smartphones, and popularizing apps.

In the past half-century, the garage startup has reached a market value of $3.7 trillion.

But the iPhone maker is under growing pressure to defend its tech dominance in the AI era, with Alphabet and Microsoft spending aggressively to pull ahead. Its shares have lagged, ranking second-worst among the “Magnificent Seven” since ChatGPT’s launch.

Rivals like OpenAI are planning AI devices that could challenge the long dominance of smartphones, yet Apple’s ecosystem remains massive, with 2.5 billion active devices.