Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook’s first mention of AI during the December quarter earnings call has Wedbush’s Dan Ives excited about the iPhone maker’s prospects going forward. What Happened: Ives thinks despite headwinds in markets like China, Apple can navigate them as it looks to speed up its AI efforts. He says Apple is entering a “new growth cycle,” with AI and iPhone being its two primary growth drivers. “We view Apple like Meta 18 months ago… entering a major growth cycle despite Street giving no credit,” Ives said in a post on X. Cook underscored another major statistical achieve…