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,

Sales of Apple iPhones dropped at the end of last year, as the tech firm's roll out of new artificial intelligence (AI) features was met with a lukewarm response. Chief executive Tim Cook said the new features helped to drive stronger sales in the countries where they were available, such as the US.

Apple executives on Thursday (Jan 30) forecast relatively strong sales growth, a sign the company will recover from a dip in iPhone sales as it rolls out artificial intelligence (AI) features. The for