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The first major crypto rule to be proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will have to wait a bit longer after a sudden postponement.

Apple (AAPL) is preparing to undertake a pretty unpleasant AI test.Google has unveiled the Pixel 11 series. With Gemini Intelligence incorporated much more deeply into the smartphone experience, it offers customers an AI assistant that can comprehend what they’re doing across messaging, calendars, maps, and other services, then help take action.That’s important, since Apple is likely to launch an overhauled Siri powered in part by Google’s Gemini models.That is, Google is not merely one of Apple’s AI providers. And it gives consumers a sneak peek of what a more powerful AI phone experience looks like before Apple launches its own version.For Apple investors, there’s a more pointed question than whether the future Siri is just better than the existing one.Can Apple use that same underlying AI tech and transform it into an experience appealing enough to protect the iPhone’s largest competitive advantage: a huge, loyal, installed base?Google products director Rick Osterloh told CNBC that Pixel and iPhone are heading in “very different directions” and that Google believes AI might eventually be the main way people use phones, computers, and other gadgets.Apple can’t afford to have Siri feel like a catch-up feature if that’s where the market is headed.“For the last 10 to 15 years, not a lot has changed in how you use laptops and mobile phones,” Osterloh told CNBC. “But we think that’s about to change dramatically.”Apple’s Siri reset now has a clearer benchmarkThe Google Pixel 11 provides Apple with something it never had before: a live demo of the kind of AI experience it now has to match, CNBC noted.Gemini Intelligence can extract information from messages, calendars, maps, and other Google services and advise or take next activities, such as researching travel choices or creating a restaurant reservation.This is a significant leap from how most users now use AI. Instead of firing up a chatbot, asking a question, and then doing the task manually elsewhere, Google is putting Gemini further into the operating system so it can work across apps.That’s just the sort of functionality Apple has been promised for Siri.The irony here is that Apple is anticipated to leverage Google’s own models to help deliver it.Now for Apple, the difficulty is integration, not model quality. If the two businesses are working with the same AI family, the competitive edge could be in how well each links that intelligence to the operating system, apps, user data, and device ecosystem.Related: Bank of America revamps Apple stock price target after earningsThe big advantage Apple has is scale. Apple already has more consumer-facing handsets with generative AI capabilities than any other brand, Counterpoint Research told CNBC.Apple doesn’t need to win the AI phone race by converting Android consumers first. It could unlock new AI possibilities for a vast installed base of iPhones.It’s important to note, though, that Apple has spent years cultivating a reputation for smooth hardware-software synergy. So if its redesigned Siri is slower, less capable, or less intimately linked than Gemini on Pixel, people may notice right away.Apple’s biggest strength could also become its biggest pressure pointThe iPhone ecosystem is one of the biggest moats in consumer tech.The user typically owns an iPhone, an Apple Watch, AirPods, a Mac, or an iPad. That makes it expensive and inconvenient to switch, and that has helped Apple sustain amazing customer loyalty.More Apple:Apple rewrites how Americans pay for iPhonesBank of America doubles down on Apple stock ahead of earningsApple’s iPhone 18 AI bet hides a pricing trapAI might either reinforce that advantage or proceed to destroy it. If Siri becomes seriously helpful across Apple’s ecosystem, the firm gets another layer of lock-in. A user who can ask Siri to coordinate messages, trips, appointments, apps, and devices could have even less incentive to quit.But if Google can make Gemini considerably more powerful on Android, AI becomes a new incentive to think about switching.That’s why Osterloh’s assertion that Pixel and iPhone are headed in “very different directions,” as Gadget Review noted, is so important.Google is wagering that stronger AI integration may be a product differentiator, not merely a software function.Now it’s up to Apple to show that the iPhone can make the same technology feel uniquely Apple.

Senior VP of hardware Engineering John Ternus (left) takes over for Tim Cook (right) as Apple CEO on Sept. 1, 2026.VALERIE MACON / Getty Images

Apple may have the installed base, but Google has the early showcaseThe timing is especially awkward for Apple.The Pixel 11 gives Google a chance to show off its latest AI features before Apple rolls out its revamped Siri experience.Such developments can affect consumer expectations. If customers start to expect AI assistants to grasp context, work across apps, and take action automatically, the bar for Siri is raised quite a bit.Apple can no longer simply make Siri smarter at answering questions. It needs to make Siri valuable enough to transform how people use the iPhone.Google says the transition is coming soon. People may someday use phones, laptops, and other gadgets primarily through Gemini, Osterloh added.Should that forecast come true, the smartphone interface may shift more significantly than it has in years. Programs may still be crucial, but consumers may increasingly rely on an assistant to determine which programs and services to run in the background.That is another level of platform strength.Today, Apple owns the iPhone interface. And tomorrow, the AI assistant on top of that interface could be just as critical.Rising hardware costs make Apple’s AI challenge even tougherThere’s one more thing Apple investors need to monitor. The whole consumer-electronics business is afflicted with the same memory loss that is afflicting Google.Shortages in RAM and flash memory are causing companies to hike the pricing of devices; Google expects further price increases, Osterloh told CNBC.That matters for Apple, since AI-enabled iPhones require more memory and more powerful components.If hardware costs continue to rise, Apple may be forced to make a tough compromise. It may absorb greater costs and compress margins, or pass those costs to consumers in the form of higher iPhone prices.Either way, purchasers need to perceive AI as a big reason to upgrade, and that it is not happening now.AI is just the sixth or seventh reason people replace a smartphone right now, CNBC noted, although AI has been climbing. That means Apple may need to educate consumers on why AI matters and convince them to pay more for gadgets.What Apple investors should watchRebuilt Siri: It remains to be seen whether Apple can match Google’s deeper agentic capabilities.Gemini integration: Apple will reveal the degree to which it can make Google’s AI technology feel native to the iPhone.Installed base: Apple’s huge population of AI-capable devices remains a major advantage.Upgrade demand: AI still is not a top reason most consumers replace smartphones.Memory costs: Higher component prices could pressure margins or force price increases.Ecosystem advantage: Apple needs Siri to strengthen its existing lock-in, rather than give Android a new selling point.So, the imminent introduction of Google’s Pixel 11 matters to Apple for a reason that has less to do with Pixel sales. It gives Apple a picture of the competitive bar against which its next Siri will be measured.Google gets to show off Gemini first, while Apple has the largest installed base.Now both are seeking to answer the same question: Can AI become important enough to transform how people use their phones?The stakes are especially high for Apple stockholders.The company won’t have to invent the best AI model, but it will need to make the iPhone the ideal platform to use it.Related: If you financed your iPhone with Apple, read this now

It was a nice lull in gasoline prices, wasn’t it?Alas, a deal between the United States and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz fell apart yet again, and oil prices turned up more than $5 a barrel and have pulled up U.S. pump prices as well. Nationally, the average U.S. price of gasoline was above $4 on Aug. 12, according to both AAA and GasBuddy.This should not have been a huge surprise. President Donald Trump and officials in his administration have regularly suggested Iranian officials are pleading for the war to end. Then, they find the Iranians add more conditions to bring conflict to a finish.AAA was at $4.036 a gallon, up 0.06% from a day earlier after bottoming at $4.009 on Aug 10. GasBuddy’s average was $4.036 a gallon, up about the same amount, and up 2.3% from its recent low, $3.945, on Aug. 9.So, the numbers are modestly lower at best from the end of July. And it doesn’t look like the situation will change until some time in September at the earliest. Related: Why gas prices dropped — and could surge againThe challenges of reopening the straitThe challenge right now is reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that links the oil-producing countries around the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and the greater world. Before Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28, about 20% of the world’s crude oil supply moved through the strait every day.President Trump said on Aug. 12 the U.S. had “total control” of the strait. But data on traffic in the Gulf suggests control doesn’t mean more ships are going through the passage. Only 14 ships passed through the strait on Aug. 11, The Wall Street Journal reported. A day later, only 16 ships were in the strait, according to another tracker Strait of Hormuz Monitor.

Oil tankers and cargo vessels waiting to enter the Strait of Hormuz from Oman. Shady Alassar / Anadolu / Getty Images

War cuts global oil supplies AND demandThe problem of the strait — plus the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia — is aggravating global energy supply shortages. That may mean oil prices — and gasoline prices — will remain higher for longer.The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates higher prices because the war has cut into global oil demand. Demand for all of 2026 will be about 1.6 million barrels a day lower than a year ago.The war in the Persian Gulf will cut global oil supply by even more. The IEA projects the supply in 2026 will fall 4.3 million barrels per day on average to about 102.3 million barrels a day. The supply should rebound to 110.3 million barrels per day in 2027.The United States is the world’s biggest oil consumer at about 20 million barrels a day, according to the public reference site Worldometer. Still, the output losses are far smaller than some of the worst-case scenarios painted early in the war. Countries and companies have implemented an array of workaround measures, according to Bloomberg News. These include alternative pipelines used by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and the use of shuttle tankers plying the Strait of Hormuz.More Oil & Gas:Iran de-escalation just hit energy stocksDrivers lose control over gas price squeezeDon’t be dulled by the dog days of AugustWar worries boost energy stocksThe continuing instability in and around the Persian Gulf (including attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels in Yemen) has put a floor under oil prices at about $70 a barrel and put a lid on oil stocks. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (XLE) closed August 12 at $61.03. That was up 10 cents from the prior day and near its 52-week high of $63.46 on March 30. The ETF is up 36% in 2026.The ETF’s top 10 components include Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron(CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP).Light sweet crude hit a 52-week high of $119.48 on March 9.Related: Is SpaceX Worth More Than Earth?

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