Apple Inc.’s artificial intelligence struggles are rippling through its product plans, forcing the company to delay a long-in-the-works smart home display until later this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Business leaders are wondering whether the low-cost laptop signals economic trouble on the horizon. Apple has long enjoyed a reputation as the computer supplier of choice for many creative professionals dating back to the days when Justin Long was personifying Macs as the hip young alternative to John Hodgman’s stodgy PC character.