Read why Apple’s revenue sinks for the third consecutive quarter 

Apple’s revenue: CEO Tim Cook says augmented R&D spending is driven by work on generative artificial intelligence.

Apple boss Tim Cook declared the firm was funding heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) on Thursday as it reported its third quarter of falling revenues, its most prolonged sales recession since 2016.

Apple’s revenue for the fiscal third quarter ending 1 July dropped 1.4% to $81.8bn. Over the quarter, the firm made a profit of $19.9bn, higher than critics had predicted.

IPhone sales missed analyst calculations but were made up for by solid sales in the services segment, including Apple TV+ and sales in China that rose 8% yearly.

Apple stocks were flat in extended trading after the results.

Also read: Amazon sales soar amid fear of sluggish economy 

Apple chief executive Tim Cook told the press that increased R&D spending was driven by work on generative artificial intelligence. The same area is poking spending at its big technology competitors, Alphabet and Microsoft.

“We’ve been researching various AI technologies, including generative AI, for years. We will continue investing, innovating, and responsibly advancing our products with these technologies to help enrich people’s lives,” Cook said. “We’re investing a lot, and it is showing up in the R&D spending you’re looking at.”

Apple’s research and development spending struck $22.61bn for the fiscal year, around $3.12bn higher than the last year.

The news came as Amazon said results were better than Wall Street’s anticipations.