Gene Munster Warns Apple Can Sell Millions of iPhones and Still Lose the AI Game as Users Could Lock Into Muse and Grok

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) can keep selling iPhones by the million and still lose the artificial intelligence game, according to investor Gene Munster, who warned that Siri could be shut out of the money if users settle into Meta Platforms Inc.’s Muse or Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) Grokbot first.

Users Will Be Hard to Win Back

In a post on X, the Managing Partner at Deepwater Asset Management said that once people connect their lives to an AI, set up their workflows, and start paying $20 or more a month, it will be harder to get them to switch to Siri in any meaningful way.

“Siri can be a great personal AI, but Apple needs to move faster,” Munster added.

Apple's AI risk isn't the iPhone losing out. It's getting boxed out of the services upside. $AAPL

If people lock into $META Muse or $SPCX Grokbot first, get their lives connected and workflows set up, and start paying $20+ per month, it will be harder to get them to switch to… pic.twitter.com/R7CzDvOu7Z

— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) October 12, 2026

A Window for Apple

On the Fathom podcast episode with Munster, fellow managing partner Doug Clinton said the bigger risk is to the upside case for Siri rather than to the device ecosystem, adding that Apple probably needs “more urgency” because “there is a window here.”

Once people get locked into rival assistants, he said, they will be “hard to convert.”

Muse Pulls Ahead on Agent Features

Meta launched Muse last month as an agent that opens a browser, fills in forms, and keeps working after the app is closed, and it passed 2.5 million downloads in its first two weeks.

Bank of America Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan said Apple can keep every handset sale and still lose discovery, referral and transaction initiation.

Apple shipped a rebuilt Siri AI with iOS 27 last month, built on custom Google Gemini models, but Mohan said it still lacks persistent background tasks, third-party action coverage, and a payment rail at Muse’s level.

However, Yorkville Ives’ Dan Ives argued in a note last week that Apple does not need the best AI model, because its more than 2.5 billion active devices make it “the toll collector on the consumer AI highway.”

Price Action: Apple’s shares closed 1.29% higher on Monday at $340.97 and gained 0.11% in extended trading to $341.34.

Benzinga Edge rankings indicate Apple’s stock has a Momentum score in the 88th percentile and a Growth score in the 40th percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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