> Apple’s most interesting value proposition was ignoring all this AI junk

Did you forget all the Apple Intelligence stuff? They were never "ignoring" if anything they talked a big talk, and then failed so hard.

The whole iPhone 16 was marketed as AI first phone (including in billboards). They had full length ads running touting AI benefits.

Apple was never "ignoring" or "sitting AI out". They were very much in it. And they failed.