Apple (AAPL) will host its annual WWDC developers conference on June 9 at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., giving us a glimpse at the various software updates it has planned for the year ahead.
While the company is sure to show off a variety of new features for its operating systems, Wall Street investors and analysts will be far more interested in how Apple is working to better compete in the AI space.
So far, the company has failed to match the kind of AI capabilities offered by rivals like Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Samsung. And with its planned generative AI-powered Siri delayed until sometime later this year, things aren’t looking so great for the iPhone maker.
“The expectation is that this is going to be probably the most uneventful WWDC in three or four years, and part of that is because … they don’t have a ton to show,” Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster told Yahoo Finance.
That could prove damaging for the tech giant as competitors continue to roll out new generative AI apps and services. To fend them off, Apple will have to start showing it has what it takes to be a true AI player at WWDC.
Apple will need to show Siri is on its way
Apple kicked off its AI push at WWDC 2024, revealing its Writing Tools, Genmoji, and image editing features. But the more powerful Siri was the centerpiece of the company’s announcements.
A revamped version of the voice assistant, the new Siri is supposed to be able to tap into your personal information and preferences to provide you with truly helpful responses to a wide range of queries.
The most famous example Apple cited was asking Siri when someone’s flight would land at the airport. The software would then be able to pull information about the flight from your email and check flight data to tell you when the plane would touch down.
But that version of Siri is delayed for the foreseeable future.
In March, Apple told Daring Fireball it expects to launch the upgraded Siri sometime this year, well later than originally anticipated. If Apple is going to put concerns about its AI expertise to bed, it’ll need to prove that it’s making progress on Siri — and provide a release date for the software.
“Apple is digging itself out of a hole,” Moor Insights & Strategy founder and chief analyst Patrick Moorhead told Yahoo Finance. “They got caught flat-footed with generative AI. I think they made a gallant effort at the last WWDC … but they just did not deliver on it. And what delivering on it means is generative AI spread across devices and different services out there.”
Proving its AI worth among developers
It’s not just about Siri, though. Apple will also need to show developers that it’s giving them the tools necessary to help them develop AI apps for its platforms.
“I think this is an important WWDC for Apple to show developers that they’re serious about AI,” Munster said. “I think they need to show that Apple is pushing some unique model approaches, and those could be small language models, or … testing a larger language model too.”
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will do just that, providing developers with access to the company’s own large language models to create AI-powered apps
The move could help software makers design new, exciting offerings that eventually drive sales of Apple Intelligence-compatible devices. Apple Intelligence is only available for the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 16 line, and various iPads and Macs. Apple said the software is simply too resource-intensive for older iPhones to handle.
Apple has time, but it won’t last forever
While missing out on AI could seriously damage Apple’s reputation, especially among younger consumers who have quickly taken to the technology, it won’t happen overnight.
“Even if they don’t deliver something that is unique and or useful or in time, it’s not going to immediately or very quickly impact the amount of people buying iPhones, because it’s hard to shift, hard to change,” Moorhead said.
Apple, however, isn’t just contending with the likes of Samsung and Google anymore. The company also has to deal with new and emerging competitors like OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and Jony Ive’s upcoming AI-based consumer product.
While we haven’t seen the device yet, the inclusion of Ive, who helped lead Apple’s design team for years and ushered in the age of the iPhone, means OpenAI’s offering could prove to be a formidable threat.
If Apple is going to withstand the tumult ahead, it’ll need to start at WWDC next week.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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