MW Apple's WWDC will be a make-or-break moment for the company's fledgling AI strategy

By Christine Ji

At Monday's keynote, Apple will get a second chance to show users it can make Siri smarter and more contextually aware

According to Bank of America, an agentic Siri could bring up to $30 billion in additional revenue for Apple by 2030.

Apple faces a high-stakes artificial-intelligence showcase next week when it hosts its Worldwide Developers Conference.

During the June 8 keynote presentation, Apple $(AAPL)$ is expected to preview a completely revamped Siri powered by Google's $(GOOGL)$ $(GOOG)$ Gemini AI model. The long-anticipated Apple Intelligence update will be incorporated in iOS27 this September, two years after Apple initially introduced the personal AI features.

Siri snafus have been a stain on Apple's reputation. At WWDC 2024, the company demonstrated how Siri would be able to answer user questions by drawing upon on-device context and online information. However, the features have been repeatedly delayed since then, even as Apple marketed them in its advertising materials.

The 2026 Siri overhaul aims to turn Apple's virtual assistant into an AI agent, complete with a separate Siri app similar to what chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude have.

Apple has been tight-lipped about the details of the update and its partnership with Google. But reports suggest that the iPhone's Dynamic Island will have a permanently accessible Siri animation, and that users will be able to swipe down to access a Search or Ask interface. Siri will also be integrated into the Camera and Photos apps to provide visual intelligence for identifying objects and to enhance photos using AI.

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Shares of Apple have rallied 14% since the beginning of the year, powered by an incredibly strong iPhone 17 cycle. Earlier this month, the stock hit an all-time high of $315. But to many on Wall Street, the company's AI strategy has been a big question mark hanging over the stock.

Apple needs to "evolve Siri into an agent that understands intent, retrieves context, calls apps and completes workflows," Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a note last week. "The near-term risk is execution." Mohan has a buy rating and a $380 price target on the stock.

An agentic smartphone will need to find personal context on the device - such as calendar events, messages, photos and contacts - and plan and execute workflows using that information.

"A generic AI model can answer general questions, but a smartphone-based agent can understand the user's specific circumstances such as where the user is, what is on the screen, who the user is messaging, what the user has scheduled, what the user has purchased, what apps the user uses and what permissions the user has granted," Mohan wrote.

Additionally, an agentic smartphone must communicate securely with apps and handle sensitive data. If Apple succeeds in navigating these challenges, Siri could represent between $15 billion and $30 billion of incremental revenue opportunity and $2 of incremental earnings per share in fiscal 2030, Mohan predicts.

See more: Apple just gave a clue that a big AI acquisition may be in the cards

MoffetNathanson analyst Craig Moffett expressed cautious sentiments, writing in a note this week that "the setup as we head into WWDC 2026 is eerily similar to that of 2024, when optimism about all things AI was (more than) fully priced into Apple's shares.

"Apple Intelligence, after a two-year delay, is now priced not as a risk but a catalyst (again)," he added.

Shares of Apple currently trade at 33.4 times forward earnings, above their five-year average of 27.6, according to FactSet. In order to justify that valuation, Apple will need to show that its AI features can trigger an even bigger iPhone cycle upgrade, or that it can monetize AI through increased services revenue, according to Moffett. He assigns Apple's stock a neutral rating and a $270 price target.

"WWDC has to deliver evidence of a genuine step-change," Moffett wrote.

-Christine Ji

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June 06, 2026 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)

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