Apple’s (AAPL.O), opens new tab plan to add generative AI to its iPhones and revive sagging sales in the crucial Chinese market will be in focus on Thursday, when the tech giant is expected to report its biggest quarterly revenue decline in more than a year, Reuters reported.

Long considered a must-own stock on Wall Street, Apple shares have underperformed other Big Tech companies in recent months, falling more than 10% this year as fears mount about its slow roll-out of artificial intelligence services and as a resurgent Huawei (HWT.UL) takes market share in China.

Analysts on average see iPhone sales, which account for about half of Apple’s revenue, falling 10.4% in the first three months of 2024, according to LSEG. That drop would be the steepest in more than three years.

The year-ago iPhone revenue that the 10.4% iPhone sales drop is measured against was unusually high as Apple satisfied pent-up demand after the COVID pandemic, company executives previously noted.

At least $5 billion of the $51.3 billion in iPhone sales a year ago was essentially catching up from disruptions in the December 2022 quarter when COVID lockdowns in China hampered iPhone production, executives said.

Even with that factored in, Wall Street expects a slight decline in iPhone sales, and analysts estimate Apple’s total revenue declined 5% in its fiscal second quarter ended in March. That would be Apple’s biggest revenue decline since the December 2022 quarter, when revenue fell 5.5%, read the report.

Apple earlier this year lost the crown of the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab. Its market value stands at $2.68 trillion after the share price declined 11.24% so far this year.

Weak revenue and falling shares have pressured Apple to spruce up its flagship device after years without major upgrades.

The company is in talks with OpenAI and Alphabet-owned Google to add genAI features for the iPhone that could be unveiled at what is expected to be its biggest-ever annual developer conference in June, Bloomberg News has reported.

According to Reuters analysts believe such an AI integration could drive demand for the next iPhone series, expected to be announced in the fall.

While executives at Microsoft, Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab and other major technology firms have talked up their AI strategies on quarterly conference calls in recent months, Apple CEO Tim Cook has discussed his plans for the emerging technology much less.

Adding AI features to iPhones could also help Apple to compete better with Huawei and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab, which reclaimed the title of the world’s top smartphone vendor from Apple this year, driven by demand for the AI features in its Galaxy S24 smartphones.

“Replacement cycle tailwinds and incremental generative AI features set up Apple well for a strong iPhone 16 cycle,” Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said this week as he upgraded the company’s shares to “outperform” from “market-perform.”

“We believe prevailing weakness in China is more cyclical than structural, and note historically Apple’s China business has exhibited much higher volatility than Apple overall, given its very feature-sensitive installed base.”

Thursday’s earnings will also be watched closely for updates on the company’s stock buyback plan and the Vision Pro, Apple’s first major product in years that hit the shelves in February.

After initial enthusiasm, there have been signs that demand slowed for the $3,500 device, with an analyst saying this month that Apple has pulled back its production estimates for the mixed-reality headset.

The rest of the company’s hardware business is also reeling from soft demand, with iPads and Mac sales expected to fall 11.4% and 4.3%, respectively, in the March quarter, Reuters reported.

Apple has signaled it is sharpening its focus on the devices, which have also been hobbled by a lack of major upgrades.

At an Apple event this month, a revamped iPad line-up is expected to be unveiled and media reports have said that it plans to update every Mac model with faster, AI-focused M4 processors.

The services business, which includes App Store and subscription services such as Apple TV, is expected to remain a bright spot with revenue growth of 7.7%.

Apple shares closed down 0.6% at $169.30 on Wednesday.

Mercedes Benz has chosen China, its largest market, to unveil its groundbreaking pure electric vehicle and advance its electrification strategy.

Markus Schafer, Mercedes Chief Technology Officer (CTO), said the company was dedicated to making more sustainable products.

He stressed the sheer size of the Chinese market as its reason for choosing the ongoing Beijing Auto Show for the debut showcase of its electrified G-class 4×4 SUV.

“China is our biggest market, our most important market. And secondly, Mercedes decided to go all electric with our fleet going into the next years and [it’s] very, very important to provide customers access to an electric G wagon next to the combustion engine cart, so this is an iconic model, very important for the company. And we are so pleased to offer it now electrically,” said Schafer.

The CTO said Mercedes Benz plans to increase its investment in China by expanding crucial Research and Development activities.

Apple’s (AAPL.O), opens new tab smartphone shipments dropped about 10% in the first quarter of 2024, hurt by intensifying competition by Android smartphone makers aiming for the top spot, data from research firm IDC showed on Sunday.

Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4 million units during January-March, with Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab, at 20.8% market share, clinching the top phonemaker spot from Apple, Reuters reported.

The iPhone-maker’s steep sales decline comes after its strong performance in the December quarter when it overtook Samsung as the world’s No.1 phone maker. It’s back to the second spot, with 17.3% market share, as Chinese brands such as Huawei gain market share.

Xiaomi, one of China’s top smartphone makers, occupied the third position with a market share of 14.1% during the first quarter, read the report.

South Korea’s Samsung, which launched its latest flagship smartphone lineup – Galaxy S24 series – in the beginning of the year, shipped more than 60 million phones during the period.

Global sales of Galaxy S24 smartphones jumped 8%, compared to last year’s Galaxy S23 series during their first three weeks of availability, data provider Counterpoint previously said.

In the first quarter, Apple shipped 50.1 million iPhones, down from 55.4 million units it shipped same period last year, according to IDC.

Apple’s smartphone shipments in China shrank 2.1% in the final quarter of 2023 from a year earlier.

The drop underscores the challenges facing the U.S. firm in its third biggest market, as some Chinese companies and government agencies limit employees’ use of Apple devices, a measure that mirrors U.S. government restrictions on Chinese apps on security grounds.

The Cupertino, California-based company in June will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it will highlight updates to the software powering iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.

Investors are closely watching for updates on artificial intelligence development at Apple, which has so far spoken little about incorporating the AI technology into its devices. The company earlier this year lost the crown as the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Reuters reported.