Apple CEO John Ternus used his first keynote as CEO on Wednesday to place the iPhone at the center of Apple’s product strategy for the AI era, saying, “There’s no product in the world better designed to be your intelligent personal hub than iPhone.” The article says this contrasts with former CEO Tim Cook, who tried to convince Wall Street that Apple was more than just the iPhone and diversified revenue through services, wearables, and the iPad. Ternus’ pitch rebuts pundits who recently cast doubt on the iPhone, including headlines saying “The smartphone’s days are numbered” and that the Tim Cook era is closing with an existential challenge of figuring out what comes after the iPhone. Ternus argues the smartphone is entering a new phase of evolution driven by artificial intelligence, and has put the iPhone at the center of its “intelligent personal assistant” strategy. The article compares this to Steve Jobs in 2001 with the Mac, less than 10 months before he announced the iPod, when Jobs said the PC was evolving and entering its “third great age” as a digital hub.