[Apple CEO Cook: Hybrid AI Strategy is a 'Competitive Weapon,' Will Drive iCloud Subscription Growth with AI] Deep Tide TechFlow reports that on July 31, according to CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated during the latest earnings call that Apple's hybrid AI strategy—where certain AI tasks are processed locally on devices while complex tasks are handled via Google Cloud—is a 'competitive weapon,' distinguishing it from tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, which invest tens of billions of dollars in data centers. Apple's capital expenditure for the second fiscal quarter was only $2.46 billion, lower than the market expectation of $3.44 billion. Cook also revealed that Apple plans to position AI as a core selling point for iCloud+ subscription upgrades, offering paid expansion options for users with high AI usage, though the specific pricing scheme has yet to be finalized.