On Monday, Apple will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The tech giant is expected to unveil a new mobile operating system equipped with more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
The focus of Apple's developer conference is on the present. Whether the AI features set to be introduced at this event will fundamentally alter how the public uses applications will largely depend on consumer feedback.
It is widely anticipated that Apple executives will showcase a comprehensively upgraded Siri on the iPhone. The new version of the voice assistant could perform multi-step, coherent operations, such as helping you book a lunch with your mother and simultaneously adding the appointment to your calendar. While Apple introduced a similar function back in 2024, its implementation faced obstacles. However, this time the situation is different, and at the very least, expectations are high. Apple has now partnered with Google, and the AI services being launched should, in theory, operate smoothly. We can only hope it all goes as planned.
Setting aside for a moment whether consumers truly need these features, let's assume people will start using them. Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President of Devices Research at IDC, believes that an upgraded Siri will significantly reduce the need for users to manually open various standalone apps, as most operations could be handled by Siri. Of course, the various applications on the phone will still be essential, as Siri will need to interact with them in the background. But in the long run, apps that primarily rely on users frequently opening them to generate advertising revenue could face challenges.
Apple might also eventually introduce a paid model for these intelligent features and could share revenue with partner apps and commercial allies like Google. This means that despite investing far less in AI research and development compared to other tech companies, Apple still has the potential to create a stable and significant revenue stream from this initiative.
Naturally, all of this remains in the future. The software is expected to be officially released this autumn, which is the typical launch window for a new generation of Apple's mobile operating systems. Its real-world performance remains to be seen. If you're wondering why Apple shares have risen approximately 25% since late March and are up 13% year-to-date, these developments may provide the answer.
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