AsianFin -- Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue warned that the iPhone could become obsolete within the next ten years as artificial intelligence transforms the way people interact with technology.

His comments came during testimony on May 7 in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Cue compared the potential shift to the demise of the iPod, which was once a dominant product until it was displaced by the iPhone itself. He noted that rapid advances in AI may lead users to favor new types of devices—such as smartwatches, AirPods, or smart glasses—over traditional smartphones.

While no company has yet successfully launched a mainstream AI-driven device that operates independently of a smartphone, Cue confirmed that Apple is exploring such innovations. His remarks echoed a long-standing prediction by noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who forecast in 2021 that Apple aims to replace the iPhone with augmented reality (AR) devices within a decade. Kuo said Apple plans to ship over 1 billion AR units to match its current base of active iPhone users.

The iPhone debuted in 2007, unveiled by Steve Jobs at the Macworld conference with a then-revolutionary design featuring a 3.5-inch touchscreen and a 2-megapixel camera. It disrupted the mobile phone market, which was then dominated by keypad-operated devices, and has since introduced a series of innovations—from the App Store and Retina displays to Siri, biometric authentication, mobile payments, and 5G.

Despite remaining Apple’s largest revenue driver—accounting for more than half of its total sales—the iPhone is seeing slowing growth in both market share and shipments amid rising global competition.