Apple shares rose 2% on Friday after a rosy forecast fuelled hopes of an iPhone sales rebound, even as tough competition and a lack of AI features weigh on demand in key market China. Already the world's most valuable company,

Apple on Thursday disclosed its iPhone sales dipped slightly during the holiday-season quarter, signaling a sluggish start to the trendsetting company’s effort to catch up to the rest of Big Tech in the race to bring artificial intelligence to the masses.

The tech giant’s sales of apps and services helped profit grow 7 percent from a year ago, even as the company contended with slumping sales in China.